Clash of the Elements Part 4 EX Story 5: The Collapsing Order
by mewmaster93
Summary: Thanks to Terumi's deceitful acts, Alex and Shina are left without the artifact piece and a clue how to get it back. Given no other choice, Alex has sworn to put and end to the all the evils of this world, and has begun a plan that involves recruiting the best the BlazBlue has to offer in order to stop them. But the thing about trying to change fate is that there's always a cost...
1. Chapter 1

" _Ah, so you have finally arrived yet again, my old friend."_

" _It's not like I've kept you waiting for too long."_

" _How easily you forget…While our perceptions of time are quite muddled, yours eclipses mine by an indescribable margin."_

" _Oh? So a couple weeks is still so agonizing for you?"_

" _A couple weeks? It has merely been a few da-…Ah, forgive me, I had forgotten that your perception has been further eschewed by this plan of yours."_

" _There is no need for apologies. This is a feeling very, very few could even hope to fathom. A pity it's a power wasted on those malignant and egotistical few."_

" _Regardless, your appearance here signifies that it's time for the next step in the plan, does it not?"_

" _Yes…The Phoenix of Destruction plots and schemes to eliminate the one called Yuuki Terumi, having nary a clue that he is simply drawn to the bait that is my trap to expose the hypocrisy of his so-called 'justice'."_

"… _Let it be said that I don't approve of the method you shall be using to expose it, old friend."_

" _If it wasn't for him, SHE would never have had to suffer in the first place. And besides…It's not as though any of this shall matter in the long run. But…that's a sentiment I can only share with a couple beyond the static veil. Isn't that right, -?"_

"… _Very well, I await to see the results."_

" _Assuming, of course, that it hasn't already ended the moment it began."_

 **CLASH OF THE ELEMENTS PART 4 EX STORY 5:**

 **THE COLLAPSING ORDER**

 **Chapter 1: A Plan to Eradicate Evil**

 _It has been twelve days since the defeat of the Murakumo Unit known as Nu, which put an end to the time loops once and for all. In the ensuing aftermath, Shina Aurora was tricked into giving up the artifact piece to Terumi in exchange for Alex's survival. However, Terumi rescinded on the deal immediately after, and attempted to kill him._

 _Though Terumi failed, Alex was thrown into a coma right after from overexertion, and he only woke up eight days later. After catching up with Shina on what had transpired since then, Alex has vowed to do his job as an Elemental Overlord properly, and see to it that the evils of this world are eliminated for good…_

Bathed in the pale reflection of the crimson moon, Rachel Alucard's castle stirred with a brisk autumn wind, rustling the petals of her rosy garden and leaving the loose shingles on her rooftops to clatter. As chimes both new and old ring hollow across the twilit sky, the small mistress of the castle seats herself upon a cushioned marble stool and partakes in the usual warm cup of tea.

Her company was the contrastingly chipper Shina, who leaned back in a marble chair that did a good job of supporting her height while she sipped tea from her own cup, a pinky extended out from it's handle. Rachel laid her cup down upon her lap and looked up at the girl, her right brow crawling up her forehead as a dour frown formed on her lips.

"Though I have grown fond of your company, Miss Aurora, I must insist that you stop sullying our tea drinking with that silly gesture of yours." She remarked with her quiet and posh tone.

Shina popped her lips as she pulled the cup away, and with her a ridiculous sounding posh tone she replied "I say, Miss Alucard, 'tis only proper etiquette for those who partake in the sipping of tea!"

"…What on earth are you saying? Raising a pinky does not make one eloquent. The ability to maintain the same demure posture over a prolonged period of time without disrupting even a millimeter of your skin on such unnecessary and foolish gestures…That is what it means to be eloquent." Rachel spoke without breaking character, yet discussed the matter with the utmost seriousness she could muster.

Staring blankly ahead, Shina gave a couple blinks and her eyes glided to the corner of her sockets, where she then curled the pinky into the handle and drew the lip of the cup to her mouth for a slow, silent sip of tea. Rachel closed her eyes and her lips creased into a smile.

"That's much better." She said, short and to the point, before returning to the merriment her own drink provided. After a few seconds, Shina pivoted her head towards the castle and looked towards the rooftops. Standing so still that he was almost statuesque was Alex, his arms pressed softly against the chest and his eyes fixated on the twilit sky. With a tilt of her head, Shina let forth a long and quiet sigh.

"That boy hasn't unglued himself from that lofty perch for over a day now…" Rachel commented, intercepting the thoughts present in Shina's mind, much to her surprise. With a sharp flinch to the right to face the vampire, Shina's tea splashed out of the rim and onto the back of her hand, leaving a momentary feeling of warmth upon it.

Rachel took another sip of her tea without opening her eyes, remarking in a curious manner "If you are concerned for his well-being, then now is not the time for hesitation, Miss Aurora."

Shina gave her head a couple quick shakes while rubbing the heated patch of skin on her hand, and with a small smile she giggled and admitted "Nah, it's fine. I'm a-okay with letting him have his private time!"

"Are you sure?"

"Well…He's never been the most _open_ fellow around, but…" Shina lowered her head an inch, prompting Rachel to open her eyes and remark with a hint of curiosity "But what?"

"That means I know when something's off with him, and…I dunno what, but something's REALLY off this time."

Rachel placed her cup on the plate before her and waved a hand up beside her face, remarking in a snappy tone "Nago, Gii, to me." Her two familiars came to her beck and call in a second, the cat forming a parasol that was whisked into her grasp in a second. Shina stood up halfway and laid her hands on the table as Rachel took a couple steps away.

"Hey, where ya going?"

"I find myself in the mood to take a brisk stroll. I shall return in a moment. Until then…Valkenhayn?" The butler appeared silently beside Shina and bowed his head, responding with his full respect "Yes, Madame Rachel?"

"Attend to the whims of our guest."

"Yes, milady." Valkenhayn rose with a smile and swiveled to face Shina without appearing to move one of his feet. After a tilt of the head to watch Rachel carry herself skyward with a light gale, Shina looked up at Valkenhayn and raised her cup, blurting out with excitement "I'll take another cup of tea!"

At the tip top of the castle, Alex tilted his head until the bottom of his skull rested upon the back of his neck. Only the wind disturbed his body, ruffling his shirt and hair. Closing his eyes and absorbing the sensation of the wind into his skin, he retreated into a calm state of mind and reflected upon some details of the world.

" _Terumi's in possession of the artifact…I have to kill him and get it back, but that's easier said than done. I have no idea where he's at, for one, and it's not like he's alone…There's three other obstacles that make this more of a pain in the ass than necessary."_

" _First there's Relius Clover. A master puppeteer and brilliant scientist…He's a heartless bastard, having turned his own wife and daughter into puppets, but I can't underestimate him just because he lets his puppet Ignis do most of the fighting for him. He's capable of going toe-to-toe with Valkenhayn and Hakumen and coming out mostly unscathed. But, for all his brilliance, his motives are very simplistic and I COULD possibly turn his innate curiosity against him."_

" _Then there's the Phantom…Or as she was better known back then, Nine of the Six Heroes. Terumi's a bastard for getting her under his control, but even I can't deny he made the right choice…She's the strongest mage in this world, even managing to use spells that cut ME off from my sword. She's a dangerous tool if allowed to stay close to Terumi, so it's definitely important I separate her from him as soon as possible…"_

" _However, neither of them compare to how dangerous Terumi's 'boss' is…The Imperator, or as she prefers to call herself 'Hades;Izanami'…The Goddess of Death herself. I don't know the full extent of her power, but consider WHAT she is she has to be immortal. Whether that means agelessness or being completely unable to die doesn't make a difference, there's little getting around that because that's ingrained into her very nature…Hmmm…Though, that would mean…Yeah, yeah, that could work. Getting her alone is important too, cause while she loathes working with Terumi I doubt she'd allow him to die while he still proves crucial to her plans."_

" _That just leaves Terumi…"_ His fingers tightened around his biceps and cracked the bone underneath. Gritting his teeth into a scowl, his body shivered as a docile aura of fire spurned to life around him. As the embers crackled in his eardrums, they were soon drowned out by the cacophony of Terumi's laughter echoing in from the past.

"… _And I'll make SURE that bastard dies this time."_

Easing himself with a deep sigh, Alex's expression was rid of the crinkles around his lips and he began to connect the pieces of the puzzle that was his master plan.

"My my…I am half-tempted to have Valkenhayn plaster you in a layer of concrete, and keep you adorned as a statue up here."

Alex glanced over his shoulder, noticing that Rachel had somehow snuck up on him. Chalking it up to him still being a bit shaky after the coma, the boy turned himself around and tucked his hands into his pockets, watching as the vampire trotted along the rickety eaves without any of them breaking off.

"What do you want Rachel?" He asked in a sour tone, his eyelids sagging as he put little effort into looking into her eyes. The vampire paused five feet from him and looked up, gliding a hand up the right side of her face as a response was being weaved in her mind.

"It is quite rude to keep a lady waiting, let alone two…You should at least have the courtesy to share what you're thinking with your comrades, especially those who feel as though you aren't in the best of shapes…"

"…What, did Shina send you up here?" Alex assumed in a peeved manner, his left brow raising for a moment before he turned his head aside and gave his friend a glance down below. With a couple short and swift rattles of the head, he sighed out the side of his mouth and faced Rachel, who had a few choices words for him.

"Surely you jest. As though I would succumb to the whims of a commoner…"

"Then…you're just here to bug me?" Alex asked with a puzzled glance out from the side of his face as he drew his right hand out and slanted it beside his hip. Putting it back in as Rachel didn't look the least bit amused and appeared ready to draw a hand up to summon lightning, Alex cocked a smile and told her in haste "Hey hey, I'm kidding! …Look, I've just finished coming up with a plan to deal with Terumi and the others."

"I would hope so…" Rachel closed her eyes and drew her arm back beside the edge of her dress, resting it there as she commented with her usual biting wit "It'd make you even more of an embarrassment if you had accomplished nothing over the span of these last four days…"

"…Haha, hilarious." Alex said with his eyelids and lips lined perfectly straight. The vampire then looked at him and asked "Then what, pray tell, is your plan?"

Closing his eyes, Alex erected his posture and with a shrug of the shoulders replied nonchalantly "Can't tell you" to which Rachel gave him a cross glare and said "Do not tell me this is an attempt at humor, Mr. Whiter, for I am far from amused."

"It's not, I just…want you to trust me on this, ok?" Alex insisted with a bit of humility in his tone. Rachel perked her brows and commented "Trust? Have I not trusted you enough times already?"

"…Maybe, but I'm just asking you to put up with me one more time Rachel. Once Terumi's gone, and the artifact piece is in our grasp…You'll never have to deal with me again, promise."

Rachel stood in silence for a few seconds and brushed the side of her hair, combing the strands between her fingers while the wind rustled her pigtails. Opening her eyes, she asked him quite bluntly "I would hope you aren't expecting me to partake in this battle of yours."

"No." Alex responded with a shake of the head, gesturing his right hand out from the pocket and telling her "You're in no shape to fight now that you've lost the power of an Observer. All I ask is that you come along and watch."

"Why, I would be foolish not to. There's nothing more entertaining than watching a train wreck unfold." Rachel said with a humored smile, followed by Alex cracking his grin and telling her "Heh, oh, I'm sure you'll be surprised. I plan to put on one HELL of a show!"

Snapping his fingers out beside his hip, Alex swerved to face the edge of the roof and tucked the hand back in. Sliding down, he exclaimed to Rachel "We'll head off right away! Just let me grab Shina!"

He sprung off the roof and plummeted into the garden hard as a boulder, shaking the tea cups right off the table and forcing Valkenhayn to sprint and stretch before they broke, his body bending around the bottom of the table's legs. Alex strolled over until he was beside the butler, glancing over him to a surprised Shina, who remarked with hands floating before her shoulders "Oh Alex, y-you're back! Was it fun being a statue?"

"…I'm just going to ignore that." He mumbled under his breath, followed by him hopping back one foot as Valkenhayn jerked upright, somehow managing to not spill a drop. With eyelids partway shut, he projected a subdued glare of annoyance at the boy and growled to him "Is it not enough you've sullied our garden and castle? Must you also disturb the integrity of our fine china too?"

"Hey, I'm glad you're here Valkenhayn." Alex said so casually as though that was the start of the conversation, to which the butler's eyes went shut and he let out a sigh, grumbling something about "Why do I even bother…"

Alex looked him straight on and said "I need you to come with us." Opening his eyes just a bit, Valkenhayn was hesitant to ask "By 'us', you don't possibly mean…"

When Rachel floated down behind Alex, the butler pieced two and two together on the spot and bore his fangs in a tense scowl, exclaiming with little restraint "Absolutely not! I forbid you from dragging Madame Rachel into another one of your roguish endeavors!"

His right foot swung up hard enough to kick a rough gale into Alex's face, and the toes of his shoes stayed one centimeter away from the cheek. The boy's expression didn't change, though he was left deafened for a moment. With a wide smile as he glared across the length of Valkenhayn's leg until he met the fire boiling in his nasty glare, Alex patted down the top of the leg twice.

"Glad to see age hasn't dulled that spark, Valkenhayn R. Hellsing. Rachel's safety is assured so long as you never lose that energy." After such a nonchalant compliment, Alex ducked under the leg and walked around the puzzled werewolf towards and an even more perplexed Shina. With his leg lowered, Valkenhayn looked down at his aloof master and voiced his thoughts with great concern.

"Milady, I must insist…Please reconsider what you're doing."

"Valkenhayn…We will go along with his plan for now. I shall have no further objections." Rachel punctuated her request with as docile a tone she could muster. With a regrettable sigh, Valkenhayn closed his eyes, crossed an arm before his chest, and took a bow before telling her "Very well…your wish is my command, Madame Rachel."

Alex, meanwhile, stood beside Shina and told her in a genuine tone "Sorry to keep you waiting, but I'm all set now."

Shina clapped her hands before her chest and rubbed them together, and with an intrigued lick of her lips said "I'm ready and raring to siege their HQ anytime Alex!"

Alex slanted his head to the left and his face drooped that way as he stammered out "W-What? No, we're not going to 'siege' anything!" Swinging his right hand up and smacking her forehead with two fingers to make her wince with a squeal, Alex shook his head and tucked his hands into his pockets.

"Hey, no need to be a grumpy gus, I was just joking!" Shina said while rubbing the sore spot with the tips of her fingers and giving him a pout from her lower lip.

"Like I can ever tell with you…" Alex mumbled while fondling his temples. When he finished, he turned his body and brushed a hand out beside his shoulder, telling Shina upfront "I think it's time we did some recruiting."

"…Ehhhh?" Shina spurted out of a widely agape mouth while tilting her head. Alex faced Rachel and Shina scooted the chair back, hastily hopping off and stumbling to keep her balance behind Alex, who waved a hand out from his pocket before speaking to the vampire.

"You can still teleport, yeah?"

"Mmm-hmm…" Rachel murmured with a nod of the head. Alex's grin went wide and he ignored Shina tapping up and down his shoulder blade as he asked the vampire "Then our first destination is Kokonoe's lab."

"Wait, Kokonoe's?!" Shina gasped as she pulled back. Her confusion towards Alex's plan would continue to linger as Rachel moved to the center of their little group and with a wave of the hand whisked them all away to a new destination.

Only a second passed before they arrived in the cold, metallic domain that was Kokonoe's lab. The room was quiet save for the whirs coming from the computers running nearby. Kokonoe herself was nowhere to be found, but the fresh smell of an open bag of chips meant that she had been in here until a moment ago.

"Hmmm, so this is where Ms. Mercury does her work? Not a very well-kept room if I do say so myself…" Valkenhayn commented, his remarks becoming more scathing as he shuffled one foot forward and brushed up a set of crumbled chips atop his shoe "Why look at this…There's crumbs everywhere. With your permission Madame Rachel, I wish to tidy this place up before it's master returns."

"Why, I'm sure she would find that most delightful, Valkenhayn." Rachel said with a short, mischievous smile. With a nod, the werewolf got to work.

Shina, after a few seconds of staring around the room, stopping Alex from walking off by planting her hands firmly on his shoulders and giving him a quick spin around. With him looking momentarily flustered, she gave him a wide-eyed, blank stare and whispered "Ok Alex, ya know I'll listen to anything ya have to say, right?"

"Y-Yeah?" Alex raised his brows with a bit of a forced smile on his face, and with a blink Shina asked "Soooooo…what's the plan here?"

Alex raised his hands to her wrists and slowly pulled her hands off, whispering to her in response "You'll know what it is in due time Shina. Right now, you'll have to trust what I'm doing." He patted her on the shoulder a couple times, and in turn she grabbed his wrist and expressed herself honestly "I DO trust you Alex…I just don't think you should be keeping us all in dark."

Staring into Shina's eyes, Alex could feel her concern in earnest, and his head drooped down while a sigh escaped his lips. But before he could say anything for reassurance, the sound of doors sliding open grabbed both his and her attention. Turning to face it, they saw Kokonoe walking in. Her eyelids were sagging with rings below the bottom, and she was in the midst of raising a cheesy potato chip to her mouth.

Holding it before her neck, Kokonoe gazed across the room, seeing Valkenhayn in the midst of depositing her excess garbage into a bin, Rachel sitting on a chair Nago transformed into, and Alex and Shina being there in general. Shina pulled her hand from Alex's grasp and waved it above his head while presenting the Grimalkin with an innocent smile, but Kokonoe simply finished raising the chip to her mouth and bit it down so she could free her hand up to scratch the back of her scalp and move towards her chair.

"Great, just who I wanted to see…Rachel, her old fart of a butler, and Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum…" Kokonoe grumbled with little effort put into trying to be sarcastic. She plopped into her chair and focused towards her computers, hoping the sight of the four would just vanish on it's own.

Shina leaned towards Alex and whispered into his ear "Am I the Dee or the Dum?" Alex blinked once and said with a sigh "You're a DumDum with double Dees…"

"Huh?" Shina mumbled while reeling back, but Alex would not dignify her with an answer as he began to approach Kokonoe's desk. As the Grimalkin tapped away at her keyboard, she poked her head up to peek at the lounging vampire, and with a disgruntled sigh she asked "So what the hell do you want Rachel? You got some nerve coming in here after you went under my nose and unchained Hakumen."

"I assure you, Kokonoe, that there are plenty of other matters I'd rather attend to than have you swear me out. The person you have business with is the little Elemental Overlord standing in front of you…"

"'Sup?" Alex said with a wave of the hand from beside his shoulder. Kokonoe looked at him for just a second, perturbed by his smile, and then looked back down at her computers.

"…What do you want?" Her words came out rushed and uncaring, matching her desire to get this over with. Alex, with a snap of the fingers, created a table of solid wind and pushed a couple of Kokonoe's computers onto it, wires and all. He then sat himself atop the empty space and leaned to the left, gesturing his right pointer finger at Kokonoe's face.

"I've got an offer even you can't refuse, Kokonoe. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be rid of Terumi for good!" Coming off as a salesman in how bombastic his tone was did little to help Kokonoe take the offer seriously, but deep down Alex wanted to have a little fun annoying her after all the grief she caused him during the time loops.

Kokonoe's brows sagged up and she laid her lithe arm under the side of her face, sucking on her special cat-eared lollipop for a few seconds, upon which she popped it out and wagged it beside her head before saying "What, did **you** come up with a plan?"

Alex nodded, and Kokonoe took it upon herself to reel back in her chair a bit and let out a short but mocking laugh.

"Ha! That's the biggest load of shit I've ever heard, and I've had my ears assaulted by Ragna the frickin' Bloodedge!"

Alex sat there and took the words in stride, closing his eyes and matching her mockery with some of his own "So, YOU have a plan to deal with Terumi?"

"What do you think?" Kokonoe replied, and with a cross of his arms and a shrug of the shoulders Alex gave her a bit of leeway by stating "Of course you do. You're one of the smartest minds on this planet. I wouldn't be surprised if you've come up with plans on top of plans to deal with Terumi.

"However…!" Alex made a hard swerve of his body to the right and bent so far back his head was upside-down before he continued "Our enemy isn't just Terumi. Do you have a plan for Relius? What about the Imperator? Or…how about Nine, the Phantom?"

Kokonoe's face crinkled up a little, aggression seeping out of every pore as she looked into Alex's eyes with a stare so cold it could freeze entire oceans in the blink of an eye.

"Piss off. I'm sure as hell not about to let **you** deal with **my** problems." For once, she bore her cat-like fangs in a scowl.

Jerking his body upright, Alex kicked his feet back and forth against the front of the desk and said "Your problems are my problems too, whether you want to admit it or not. Besides, not like I'm asking you to let me handle all those bastards on my own…Truth be told, I can't get that done without your help, Kokonoe."

Brushing his hands horizontally beside his shoulders, Alex perked his head up a bit and grumbled a bit of his grievances out "And considering the shit you tried to pull on me, well…Haha, don't you think we should _both_ just let bygones be bygones here and focus on fighting the REAL enemy?"

Alex closed his eyes and lowered his hands towards the edge of the desk. Kokonoe's right hand glided along the desk, the thumb slipping under the edge towards a button down below, all without making a sound. Alex tapped a middle finger down onto the desk and sent a jolt of electricity to intercept her finger. As she pulled her thumb back, Alex lifted his legs up and did a quick spin to plant them down in front of Kokonoe's stomach.

"Alright, let me sweeten the deal for you. If we work together to take down Terumi and the others, I'll let you know how to manipulate the same elemental energy I use."

Kokonoe raised her head a bit and with a dry sigh shook her head and remarked "If that bastard's gone I'd have no reason to even bother with that crap anymore."

"Nonsense! You're a scientist, you're all about breaking the boundaries of knowledge and discovering the undiscovered. And what better way to advance your knowledge than to learn about something no one else in this world could ever even DREAM of discovering?" Alex swung his head back and his arms up, playing up the excitement in his voice to the ninth degree.

His thoughts, however, were docile and calculating _"Kokonoe, you're brilliant, sure…But that strength is also your Achilles' Heel. Geniuses like you, they'll do ANYTHING to learn more. They aren't satisfied with limits. So long as you dangle the bait of further knowledge before them…"_ He lifted his head up a bit and saw Kokonoe folding her hands together as support for her chin.

" _Even an 'idiot' like me can reel in a big catch…!"_ Satisfied with thinking of the visage of him cracking a wide grin, Alex lowered his head and watched as Kokonoe parted her hands and tapped the fingers on the edge of the desk, begrudgingly saying "Hmph, fine, I'll play along with this crazy plan of yours…For now."

"But mark my words, the moment you do something stupid, I'm out." Kokonoe, even though she agreed to join up, stayed true to her blunt attitude and thrust her lollipop towards Alex's face.

"Faaaaaair enough. 'Glad' to have you onboard Kokonoe." Alex held his right hand out for a shake, but Kokonoe just turned to the left and told him "Now, will you get my shit back in order?"

Reeling back on his hands and pressing his arms against his chest, Alex said "What's the point? We're not going to stick around here much longer."

"Oh?" Kokonoe leaned her head down atop one of her palms and began sucking on her lollipop again, giving Alex a short aside glance as he spun around and kicked off the desk. Brushing a hand up towards the right corner of the room, he remarked "Face it, we don't really have any privacy here."

"Yeah, those old bastards up top are going to be a pain in the ass if we stick around. You're suggesting we change our base of operations?"

Alex, stopping in front of Shina, spun to the left and snapped his fingers out to declare "Exactly! And…I get the feeling **you** have already got a place in mind."

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I do." Kokonoe got out of her chair and walked around the desk, sinking her left hand into her pockets before she explained "I've got a contact within the NOL itself. Does the name Kagura Mutsuki ring a bell?"

"Oh!" Shina chimed in, swinging her hand raggedly above her head with the eagerness of a student in a class. Kokonoe sighed and closed her eyes, and didn't get a chance to lambaste her eagerness as she raised a pointer finger beside her face and stood upright with a perfect and mature posture.

"Colonel Kagura is head of the Duodecim's Mutsuki family! Known as the Black Knight, he's highly respected for his dedication and kindness towards his people, along with the strength he displayed during the Ikaruga Civil War."

"Yeah, congrats, you read a book…" Kokonoe's response was dry as the dunes and she began scratching the back of her head, adding to Shina's definition "He's also the only higher-up I'll trust in that entire damn organization. If there's anyone we can rely on to keep Terumi off our backs, it's him."

"Then that'll be our next stop. Once Kagura's up-to-date on what's going on, I'm sure he'll be more than happy to help us out. So we'd be heading to Ibukido's HQ, correct?" Alex turned to Rachel, who raised her head up from a lofty nap and yawned.

"…I know naught where this HQ lies. Kokonoe, I leave this matter in your hands." With a tired tone, Rachel leaned back and continued her rest. Kokonoe rubbed the back of her head some more and grumbled "Yeah yeah…" as she nevertheless went back to her desk.

"By the way, what's she even doing here in the first place?" She pondered to Alex as she began typing something into her keyboard.

"Just watching everything unfold." He admitted with a bit of humor in his voice.

"So, business as usual…Figures." Kokonoe responded with drier wit, and in a matter of seconds her inputting was done. Pulling herself away from the computer, she walked to the center of the room and said "Alright, we'll be off in ten seconds. I locked onto the coordinates directly in front of Kagura's office, so you better have something prepared for him the moment we arrive kid."

"Oh don't worry…I know EXACTLY what to do." Alex said, his smile spreading out like an unfurled rug. As he said that, a chill crept through Shina's body and made her perk upright with eyes wide as could be. She stared at the back of Alex's head, wiggling her fingers before her chest and thinking _"Alex wouldn't actually consider doing something like…_ _ **that**_ _…would he? …Would he?"_

Doubts would plague her mind, as with a slow and steady gulp she and the others were teleported out of Sector Seven on a one-way trip to Ibukido, where they would hopefully get the meeting they desire…

 _Next Time: Casanova Conflict_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Raising a Rebellion**

Thanks to Kokonoe's technology, the trip to the Yabiko NOL branch was swifter than the blink of an eye. They arrived in the middle of an empty hallway whose appearance was a sharp contrast from the ones in the Kagutsuchi branch. There was a lot more natural lighting coming in from the windows, for one, and the walls were made of a silver-blue material that reflected that light and created a crisp and warm atmosphere in the building.

The walls were composed of archaic arches and short, square-ish pillars on top of them. In front of each arch was a small statue depicting a priestess holding some sort of blunt, winged baton, and between each of the arches was a crimson cloth flag with golden trimming. There were a couple doors inside of the arches, along with a tall metal one at the very end. The only other thing of note was an out of place piano two arches away from the exit to this hall.

Glancing around, Shina folded her arms behind her back and with a smile remarked "I like this place more already!" Alex spun around and with a finger before his mouth breathed out a drawn-out "Shhhhh!" that made her flinch.

"Keep it down! We're not even supposed to be here!" Alex noted with a blunt whisper. He then stood up and crossed his arm, glancing back at Kokonoe as she scratched the back of her head with one hand and looked at digital pad with the other, in front of her a ten-foot tall wooden door.

"So, Kokonoe…This IS Kagura's office, right?"

"Should be." She said swift and unfocused.

"Should be?" Alex aped with an inquiring punctuation.

"What, you think I keep tabs on this guy at all times? I got better shit to do." She replied with a sharp tone of annoyance at the end. Alex then shrugged and closed his eyes.

"Whatever. It'd be rude to just barge in unannounced. Maybe it'd be best to find someone who can confirm it's his room."

"…You choose the most peculiar of times to show a shred of manners, Mr. Whiter." Rachel commented with a lofty sigh beforehand. Alex gave her a quick glance of scorn and said "Hey, I'm plenty polite!"

"Just knock on the damn door you pansy!" Kokonoe blurted out with a bit more frustration than before, her voice getting so loud it echoed throughout the hall. Alex bit down on his teeth with a grimace and spun around ready to chew her out, but then someone else spoke out before him.

"What on Earth is going on here?"

The soft, sullen voice of a young man took Alex by surprise. Jerking up and spinning to the right, he was about to draw his sword against a presence he hadn't even sensed in the slightest. However, upon looking at the person in question, the boy's unease went down quite a bit. The person in front of him appeared to be of Asian descent, and had small, delicate and feminine features including lithe arms and legs. He wore a standard NOL uniform much like Jin, but with a small red tie over the blue jacket and his shoulder pads pitch black. He had black hair styled in a bowl cut that reached his cheekbones, and he stood just an inch or so shorter than Alex.

With a quiet, strict stare, the man gleamed over the company present before him until finding his focus entirely on Kokonoe. The suspicion radiating around his body faded to nothing, replaced with a dull curiosity.

"Ah, you're Professor Kokonoe of Sector Seven?" He asked with a hint of respect. Kokonoe laid her left hand upon her hip and remarked "In the flesh. And you're…Captain Hibiki Kohaku, correct?"

"I'm surprised you've heard of me." Hibiki said, putting little effort into a smile.

"You'd be surprised what I know. But enough idle chit-chat. Hey kid, tell the Captain why you've rudely barged in." Kokonoe closed her eyes and took a step back, putting Alex to the front of the crowd. The boy jerked back and was going to stammer out an accusation towards her for being the one responsible for barging in, but settled for a tight-lipped growl before looking back at Hibiki.

Calming down with a heavy sigh, Alex folded his arms against his chest and leaned back, telling the man the absolute truth "We've come to meet with Colonel Mutsuki. There's a matter of grave importance to discuss."

Lowering his head a bit and letting out a sigh, Hibiki spoke "Professor, if you required a meeting, you should have given me a warning in advance."

"What, is he busy?" Shina asked while leaning her head back and tapping her chin. Hibiki's sigh grew deeper, and he rubbed the temples of his forehead hard enough to leave wrinkles while remarking "Depends on your definition of 'busy'…"

Alex opened his eyes with a dullard's glare and then raised a finger up from his arms, remarking "Hang on a second…" before he walked to the door. Leaning his ear into the crease between the door and frame, he overheard the sounds of high-pitched feminine giggling coming from behind.

" _Oh Colonel…you're such a STUUUD."_

" _Heh, you're too kind babe."_

Alex's eyelids sagged until the eyes could no longer be seen past the eyelashes, and he pulled himself upright as though he was a statue being lifted onto a pedestal by a crane. With a steady turn to Hibiki, he walked away from the door and asked him "…Could you tell him he has visitors?"

"I'd be more than happy to." Hibiki said with a somewhat bigger smile. He approached the door, his footsteps not leaving behind a single sound, and raised his gloved knuckles to give the wood a few quick, rhythmic knocks akin to beating a drum.

" _A-Ack…! Who's there?!"_

"Lord Kagura, you have company. May I let them in?" Hibiki inquired, his politeness hiding the tiny bit of joy he derived from catching his superior.

" _I…Uhhh…can't see anyone at the moment. Tell 'em to come back later."_

"This is a matter of grave importance sir. Your company includes Professor Kokonoe of Sector Seven." Hibiki stressed the matter without losing his cool in the slightest, something that impressed Rachel to the point that she remarked to Alex "See, Mr. Whiter…That is the ideal of etiquette to strive for."

"You know, I said you could watch, I never said you could comment, Rachel." Alex said, wiggling his lips as he cracked a feral sounding growl beforehand.

" _Shit, right now?! Uhhh just…let me put these documents away real quick!"_

" _W-Wait! C-Colonel Mutsuki, where are you taking m-?!"_

The sharp sound of glass shattering punctured through the door for all to hear, along with Kagura's not-so-subtle cries of _"Go! Go! Don't worry, I'll call ya later babe!"_

After a period of silence, Hibiki stepped back and turned to his side, giving the others what he deemed a necessary apology so quiet that it would only have breeched his master's ears had he been right at the door. He then stepped away as the sound of footsteps grew ever closer, giving the door sufficient room to swing open.

Standing under the frame with a rather undignified, wide-eyed glare of panic was a tall, broad chest young man with slick backed black hair complete with two curved, pointed bangs hung over the side of his face. His uniform consisted of a white, robe-like shirt with long sleeves that open just above his abdomen, the shirt covered by a large black cape that is separated into three individual cloves and had a deep crimson red interior. Around his beefy arms from the elbows down were white wraps, and three brown belts wrapped around his waist. Compared to everything else, his black pants were as plain as paper, and his feet were protected by steel toed light brown shoes.

His uniform gave off the presence of a powerful warrior, befitting his title of the 'Black Knight', but the rest of his posture betrayed that name as best as it could. He was hunched over with sweat on his face and pecs, using his left elbow to support himself on the door frame. With hefty pants, he was struggling to dispel the panic on his mind when met with the unenthusiastic stare of his subordinate Hibiki.

"H-Hey…So, you said the Professor's here, huh? A-As in…in person?" Kagura spoke with a laid-back, cool-as-ice kind of tone, even in the face of Hibiki's glare of dismay. By the time he finished inquiring, he was able to take one deep breath to compose himself. He stood upright, standing a little over six feet tall, and used his shoulder as support against the door frame while crossing his arms and letting Hibiki explain himself.

"Sir, were you neglecting your duties again?" Instead, however, Hibiki threw out an accurate accusation, to which Kagura immediately widened his eyes and responded with a guilt-filled stutter.

"N-Not at all! I had a lot of documents to file!"

"…And that caused your window to break? …Again?" Hibiki pressed on while swiveling his head a little to the left to peer past Kagura's right arm. Kagura shifted his body to block his view while making a quick glance over his shoulder, and swiftly he came up with an answer.

"It was…a cougar!"

"…A cougar." Hibiki said, his voice completely stoic. In this instance it's not so much that he didn't believe his lord's answer, but rather he was left flabbergasted that he would use a word with that specific kind of double-meaning without a hint of irony in his voice.

"You saw a cougar…In Kazakhstan." Nevertheless, he kept going along with the matter, and Kagura responded with a tongue-clicking scoff of dismay at the whole thing happening.

"Yep…Those **darn** Kazakhstani Cougars, always jumping through windows and shredding up all my hard work."

"You can worry about your damn fantasies later Colonel. We got shit to do and no time to waste!" Kokonoe saved the day with her usual brand of 'tact', as Kagura turned his head to look down at her and composed himself a little, though his eyes stayed just a bit widened.

"R-Right…My apologies." He said, giving a surprising amount of respect for the Grimalkin. He cracked a smile and said to her while beginning to look at the rest of the group "Can't say I was expecting to see you in person, especially here of all places. You could have at least-"

His head locked up dead center with his chest with eyes wide and focused towards Shina, and in a millisecond he switched the topic of conversation to an allured sounding greeting of "Well heeeeeello there."

Shina's whole body got rickety with a cold tremble going through it, and she laid her hands atop her waist while her pupils shrunk to the size of pin tips. She forced a smile and looked at Kagura, watching as he scanned her from head-to-toe with a hand laid below his chin and one brow perked up.

" _T-This reminds me a lot of what Johnny did, but…"_ Shina cuddled her elbows against her waist and looked down, in her mind imaging that Kagura had a wireframe box around all of her more pronounced, feminine features and was analyzing them down to the detail much like a robot would.

"… _H-He wasn't as creepy about it."_ She closed her eyes and let out a slight gulp. Alex looked over his shoulder and saw her unease, and was about to address the matter to Kagura when the man nudged him aside by pure accident so he was able to stand a couple feet away from Shina.

With a gentle smile full of his natural charisma, Kagura winked and said "Hey babe, haven't seen you around these parts before. What's your name?"

"S-S-Shina…" Shina spat out between pinched lips. With a blush in her cheeks her right hand bolted to the side of her face and she brushed her head and tried to look away, lambasting herself internally _"W-Why did I do that?!"_

Kagura closed his eyes and his smile rose a bit as he threw her a genuine compliment "Shina eh? A pretty name for a pretty face, if I do say so myself."

Shina squeaked and her heart fluttered within her chest. She found it harder to ignore Kagura's presence after that, and she began to turn her head back to face him. With dashing boldness, he swept her right hand up in his gentle grasp and held it before his chest.

"I've uhh…never met a girl as tall as you before, but that's fine with me. Short or tall, I've got enough love to give to them, milady." He then bent his head down and gave a swift smooch to her tender middle knuckle, and at that moment Shina's head jerked back as her heart was struck with the pointed arrow of love. Kagura let go of her hand and she drew it back to her chest nice and slow, her face as red as deep crimson. Alex, meanwhile, stared over his shoulder with eyes wide and furious, staring daggers into Kagura's exposed backside.

Pulling back and folding his arms against the chest, Kagura smiled and remarked "So hey, how's about a take you out for a drink sometime? I'd like to get to know you more, and what better way than over a nice, I-I-ice c-c-cold…" Kagura began shivering from his legs upward, his teeth clattering while he dug his arms tighter against his chest.

"H-H-Hey…H-Hibiki…D-D-Did you forget to s-shut off the a-a-air c-c-conditioning?" Kagura said while turning his head back to his subordinate. Hibiki glanced just a couple inches ahead of himself and sees Alex laying a frost covered hand onto the back of Kagura's right leg, freezing the top of his skin so he couldn't feel his presence. His brows were arched down, his stare as cold as the ice.

"No, Lord Kagura, it must merely be the breeze coming in from the window you broke." Hibiki said, giving a somewhat disapproving stare towards Alex. The boy sighed and pulled his hand away, letting Kagura's natural body heat thaw the ice out as he turned around to fully face his subordinate, insisting with a firm glare "I told you, it was the Kazakhstani Cougars!"

"Regardless of any 'Cougars', sir, the cost of repairs is coming from your pay." Hibiki said without a hint of joking in his voice. Kagura let out a dry gasp and murmured "Awww, come on now…"

"Hmmm…Perhaps if you spent more time trying to uphold your reputation as a generous knight rather than a lecherous one, you would not be in this predicament, Black Knight Kagura." Rachel spoke from right behind his back, her eyes shut and a hand brushing up the loose strands of hair on the side of her face. Kagura turned around and bumped his shoulder against the back of Alex's head, furthering his irritation, though yet again Kagura kept his attention focused on the girl in front of him. This time though, he was a little more perplexed at their appearance.

"Uhhh…Have we met before? I'd hope not cause…I **really** don't swing that way." He said, biting his teeth with a bit of nervousness welling up inside. Kokonoe, having to fight back the urge to just go back home, saw a chance to make some actual progress in the conversation and took it without hesitation.

"Oh yeah. Kagura, meet Rachel Alucard. Rachel…well, I guess you already know him, so whatever." Kokonoe said, her tone dry, unenthused, and fast enough to just get it over with clearly.

Kagura's eyes widened a bit and his tone displayed a greater show of seriousness than he had so far "You're THE Rachel Alucard?"

The vampire opened her eyes and smiled, congratulating the man for his remark "My my, so my reputation proceeds me."

"I just…wasn't expecting this."

"Oh? Were you expecting someone taller?" Rachel remarked, sounding just the teeniest bit insulted. Kagura shook his head and told her "Not at all. But from the way Kokonoe talked about you I thought you'd be some crabby old lady."

"Is that so?" Rachel's tone was raised a bit, her head tilting just the few centimeters necessary to give Kokonoe a bright, piercing glare. The Grimalkin scratched the back of her head and tried to pass it off with "Eh, water on the bridge, right?"

The vampire saw little need to say anything more and pulled back with a sigh, while in front of her Kagura faced Valkenhayn and looked at him from head-to-toe. With greater reverence in his voice, he commented "Then that would make you Valkenhayn R. Hellsing of the Six Heroes…"

"It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Black Knight Kagura." Valkenhayn said with a respectful bow of the head. Kagura shook his own and responded "I-I don't deserve the praise, honest. After all, nothing I've done can ever compare to your heroics, Silver Wolf Valkenhayn."

"I can always appreciate meeting a well-educated man of your position. You do a disservice to all the people you've helped by downplaying your relevance, Black Knight." When the werewolf had offered his utmost praise, Kagura cracked a smile that met the butler's own, sharing their mutual respect in that one, singular action.

Then, the Black Knight buckled down on what was going on by crossing his arms against his chest and facing Kokonoe again, telling her bluntly "So…this is pretty serious, isn't it? What's going on here?"

"Much as I'd love to tell you, it wasn't initially my decision to come here." Kokonoe leaned her head forward and scratched the back of it, popping her lollipop in with the other. She then glanced a little up at Alex and prompted him "Hey kid, you're up."

Kagura looked at Alex with immense confusion while the boy closed his eyes, doing little to hide his grueling scowl as a vein throbbed on his forehead.

"Oh, so NOW he notices me? Look 'dude', just cause I don't have a massive pair of honkers doesn't give you the ri-"

A clicking sound went off behind Alex, who glanced over his shoulder and saw Kokonoe holding up some manner of recall device out beside her head and gave him a glare with minimal effort. The message well-received, Alex looked back at Kagura and let out a sigh, tapping his fingers atop his arms as the Colonel gave an honest but confused apology of "Uhhh…I'm sorry? You should've spoken up if you were feeling ignored."

"…Whatever. Lets get down to business, Kagura." Alex scratched the side of his forehead and then stared him right in the eyes, nudging his head towards the door.

"Lets head inside. Hibiki's welcome to come in too." He then began to walk into Kagura's office with a casual stroll, as though he owned the place. Kagura blinked a few times and his mouth was stuck agape, the words he wanted to say unable to come out at first.

"W-Who is this kid…?" He whispered, those words only managing to reach Rachel's ears as she passed by. With a slight lift of her head, she answered him "Why, he is the current incarnation of the Elemental Overlord. Though, I suppose you should be given no share of blame for not believing me, given his roguish, bitter exterior."

"The Elemental Overlord?" Kagura said with a hint of familiarity. In the center of the office, Alex stopped and looked back, commenting in a dry tone of bewilderment "What, you've heard of me?"

He then spun around all the way to face Rachel and call her out "Rachel, didn't you tell me there was no records kept of the original Overlord coming here?"

"I would presume Kokonoe is to thank…" She answered, to which Kagura backed her up with a smile and comment of "Yeah, pretty much."

" _Hmph, doubt it was anything good…"_ Alex closed his eyes and furrowed his brows, tucking his hands into his pockets until only the thumbs stuck out. He then nudged his head to the left and said "If you have any questions save them for later. For now, just take a seat and I'll get this show on the road."

"Alright, sounds good to me." Kagura said as he walked to his desk. With just a finger he spun his tall, soft and bumped chair around like a top and fell as gentle as a feather on it, even though he landed with the impact of a stone splashing atop a lake. He thrust his legs up and planted the heels of his shoes upon the desk, leaning back and laying his hands behind the head. Somehow, even his laziness was filled with overwhelming charisma.

Shina's face was still plagued with a blush, her heart stricken with the gentle, butterfly-like fluttering, and she didn't quite know why. Alex, standing beside her and finding himself strangely irritated by her current feelings, delivered a sharp elbow nudge to her waist and pulled back so fast it was like he never moved at all.

Her complexion went back to normal, and she puffed her cheeks and in a huff threw her fists at her hips and exclaimed "What was that for Alex?!" The boy shrugged his shoulders and then looked up at Kagura, who was watching their brief spat with brows raised in intrigue.

"Anyways Kagura, lets cut to the chase. Since you're Kokonoe's confidant within the NOL, I'd assume she's already told you the truth about 'Captain Hazama', correct?"

"Ah, so you know about that, huh? That 'Hazama' is actually Yuuki Terumi, the traitor of the Six Heroes." Kagura said, taking the matter with the utmost dedication towards paying attention. With a nod of the head, Alex prepared further elaboration to give to the Colonel.

"Usually I'd be reluctant to say this, but desperate times call for desperate measures…Shina and I? We're not from this world."

"I figured that the moment Rachel said you're the Elemental Overlord. So why did you come here?"

"We've been traveling through space in search of these artifact pieces that will lead us to an object of great power known as the Cosmos Drive. Our search led us to your planet, and we found the artifact piece buried within the depths of Kagutsuchi's HQ."

"Kagutsuchi? That's right, we got reports talking about the Nox Nyctores Take-Mikazuchi firing upon the city and some strange object in the sky blocking it. Just what the hell went on there?"

"Well, thanks to Relius and Terumi, the Cauldron in Kagutsuchi was housing a Prime Field Device, the thirteenth in the current line." Kokonoe spoke up, using her expertise to better detail what occurred "That thing had the ability to fuse with Ragna the Bloodedge's Azure Grimoire and become a new Black Beast."

"Hold on." Kagura interrupted while jerking his body upright, slamming his feet against the ground. With a surprised look in his eyes he asked "A new Black Beast? How is that possible?"

"Because Ragna has been cursed to carry the remains of the Black Beast in his right arm. That curious doll in turn was able to resonate with that power, and awaken that dreaded beast once more…" Rachel explained, her answer curt but understandable enough.

"And thanks to that, the Black Beast was able to dive into the past through the Cauldron, where it emerged at it's pre-destined point 100 years ago, starting the Dark War all over again. This loop kept up thanks to the efforts of Takamagahara, at least until Ragna and Noel Vermillion managed to break it."

"Noel? How was SHE wrapped up in all this?" Kagura said with grave concern in his voice. Kokonoe shook her head and said "That'll take a day in of itself to explain."

"More importantly though, there was something that happened which made things much tougher for Ragna to overcome. Nu had managed to gain access to the artifact piece, and through it channeled a deadly power that made her a REEEEEAL pain in the ass to kill. In turn, this artifact increased the Black Beast's power, thus necessitating the Elemental Overlord interfering in the past."

"Those artifacts sound pretty dangerous." Kagura noted in response to Alex's explanation. The boy shook his head and said "Only in the hands of evil. Once Shina and I grab hold of them, they're just regular stones."

"…And right now, you don't have the one from this world." Kagura pieced together. Shina hung her head and tapped her pointer fingers before her chest. Alex gave her a slight glance then with eyes closed answered the Colonel "Due to some… _unfortunate_ circumstances, Terumi snatched the artifact piece and hid it god knows where. Frankly, I don't care to know where it is, all that matters is that he DOES have it-"

"…and so long as he does, our world is in greater danger than ever before." Kagura and Alex were in perfect sync, which took the boy by surprise as he paused for a moment and then nodded his head.

"So, you decided to come to me for help, is that it?" Kagura inquired.

"Right now, we could really use a base of operations that won't be under threat of observation from the enemy."

"So you chose an NOL HQ?" Kagura noted with a slight chuckle, but would be surprised when Alex tells him "I realize how silly that sounds at first, but…That's why I chose it."

"Oh? Do tell…"

"It's such a stupid, boneheaded decision…But also something Terumi would never expect from me. Right now, he probably believes that I'll go charging after him to reclaim the artifact piece. Instead, I'm hiding right here in plain sight, plotting the demise of him and all his cohorts."

"Hold up. You're not just after Terumi?" Kagura's eyes widened a little, and with a nod of the head Alex told him with a humored grin "I believe you could understand a thing or two about not doing your job properly."

"Ouch, low blow…" Kagura mumbled, but found little to disagree with. Alex then wagged his right hand out from his pocket and had a more serious answer to give.

"No, I'm not just after Terumi. I want to rid this world of all the evils that have long since festered unopposed in it. It's for that purpose I've come up with a plan to take them all down in one fell swoop. And, if you're willing to let us use your HQ as a base, I can assure you that our efforts will do nothing but benefit the people of this world."

"Hmmm…" Kagura leaned back in his chair, getting all comfortable as he sunk into a contemplative state of mind. Hibiki was at his side, questioning him with a whisper that only Alex heard by manipulating the flow of sound with his control over air.

"Lord Kagura, there is something I find rather suspicious about all this…I would consider your options wisely." As he pulled back a little, his master opened his eyes and sat up a bit, looking straight at Alex with a question right at the very tip of his tongue.

"There's something I want to know. You say you're doing this for the benefit of the world…But how exactly do you expect me to trust you?"

"…What, is there something about me you don't trust?" Alex inquired, but only sounded the tiniest bit offended.

"Not exactly you, per say, but rather this whole setup. Call me a bit paranoid here, but at the same time last I checked you were considered an SS-Class Criminal like Ragna the Bloodedge."

" _Right, those stupid posters would still exist in this timeline…"_ Alex bemoaned with a heavy twitch of his right eye as he tried to fight against the annoyance welling inside as Kagura continued on.

"See, here's my theory…Somehow, you and your friend have managed to either blackmail or brainwash Kokonoe, Rachel and Valkenhayn to do your bidding. Using the Professor's scientific expertise and the good name of one of the Six Heroes, you want to lure the leaders of all NOL branches into a false sense of security so you can sneak into their Cauldrons and destroy them, much like Ragna the Bloodedge would. That story about the artifact pieces? Just a fabrication to try and earn sympathy points from me."

Kagura ended his theory with a smile that left Shina reeling back with a stark look of disbelief spread across her face. She leaned forward and swung a hand out, pleading to the man "T-That's not true! Without those pieces, my peop-"

Only when Alex swung an open hand before her face did she stop, flabbergasted as to why he would let Kagura get away with such baseless accusations. With a confident calm enveloping his body, the boy looked Kagura straight on and didn't move an inch as he told him "So, all I have to do to get your help is offer you proof that you can trust me?"

"Yeah, if you can."

"Do I have your word?"

"A man who breaks his promises no longer deserves to be called a man. I'm wagering my very pride on this gamble, Elemental Overlord."

"Lord Kagura, please recon-"

"Relax Hibiki…It'll be fine." Kagura stood up from his chair with a smile, and after meeting that with a short nod Alex waved his left hand briefly before his face and began to walk towards the right corner of the office. Kagura, remaining as collected as a member of the British royal guard, joined the boy over there. The two were far enough off from the others that sticking to whispers would suffice for their conversation, of which Alex started off without any hesitation about what he was going to reveal.

"I know all about your coup, Kagura."

"Huh? What do you mean by 'coup', exactly?" Kagura raised his brows, doing his best to sound ignorant, but with his eyes shut Alex detailed what he knew without a hint of hesitation.

"The current 'Imperator' is a fraud instilled into power by Terumi and Relius after using the Ikaruga Civil War to overthrow the previous Imperator, Lord Tenjo. The real heir to the throne, Homura Amanohokosaka, is currently under your protection here in the remnants of the Ikaruga Federation until you can manage to overthrow the current 'Imperator'."

Creaking his eyelids open partway, Alex tilted his head to the right and gave the Colonel an indicting glance before asking "So, is that enough to earn your trust?"

Kagura's eyes were left motionless, with him not even blinking as he stared blankly into Alex's face. The boy could tell that he was trying to piece together how Alex could possibly have known about any of that. But no answer he'd determine would even come close to being accurate. In the end, the Colonel settled for telling Alex "…If you were an enemy, you'd have killed me without a second thought…"

Cracking a bit of a smile, Alex closed his eyes and noted "Being stealthy isn't really my style. So yes, if my story was a fabrication, we'd have never even gotten to this point in the conversation."

"So, when you said you plan to rid the world of all evil within it…"

"Yes, that includes the current 'Imperator'."

"…Ok, I'm in. I'm willing to help you out with whatever you need."

"Really, just like that? You don't have any other 'theories'?"

Kagura shook his head and leaned back against the corner of the room, propping himself up and maintain a cool but serious aura around himself. With eyes shut, he said "Truth be told, Kokonoe and I were already working on a plan to overthrow the Imperator. But if you can get that tyrant off her throne sooner rather than later, then I'm all for it. The world's suffered enough under her reign."

Alex, with a wide and proud smile, turned and held his hand out before telling the man "Then welcome aboard Colonel Mutsuki. I'm glad you're on our side."

The two gave a quick but firm handshake, and Kagura said "Same here, uhhh…"

"Alex Whiter."

"Huh, well alright." Kagura noted with a hint of intrigue, and as the two parted hand he crossed his arms and asked "So, hey, if you don't mind me asking…"

He tilted his head to look past Alex and focus on Shina, followed by him mustering all his boldness to inquire "That girl you're with…Is she yours or is she available?" He smiled and winked at her, which led to her blushing once more.

Alex, with a very forced smile as his right brow twitched, gave the man a firm but nonchalant response "You know, I have no intention to kill you, but unless you want to have blue balls for the rest of your life I'd suggest you don't try anything."

"Ah, I get it…You haven't sealed the deal yet, have you?" Kagura was unflinching in the face of that threat and cracked a sly grin. Alex opened his eyes a bit and murmured in a flabbergasted tone "Sealed the…deal? What a load of baloney."

"Heh, nothing to be ashamed about. I remember how scared I was of denial my first time."

With a sharp turn around, Alex gave a haughty scoff and wiggled his left fingers off his elbow, stating with intense denial "Hmph! Don't presume things you know nothing about, Kagura. Now come on, there's things to do."

He then walked over to the others, unaware of Kagura's mind brewing up ideas regarding the boy's hesitation. When both of them were back, Hibiki inquired to his master "Lord Kagura, don't tell me you've chosen to ally with this boy?"

"'Fraid so Hibiki. I know you'll object, but-"

"I'll follow your orders down to the letter, Lord Kagura, but remember that we all face the consequences of those orders." His subordinates' words were firm, and Kagura told him "It's a huge gamble, but one I'm positive will work out in the end."

"If you say so…" Hibiki remarked with a heavy sigh.

In the center of everyone's attention, Alex started off by addressing Kagura and Hibiki "For now, you two can keep up with your regular routine. Try not to arouse suspicion if you can."

"Can do." Kagura stated with confidence.

"Alright. Then Kokonoe, you can use Kagura's basement as a laboratory."

"Wait, wha-" Kagura raised his brows and froze up.

"If you need help bringing you're stuff over from Sector Seven, Shina and I can assist you. But we need you to work on a few things when it's all ready. First, you need to re-establish your communicator to get in contact with Tager. Second, create a teleportation device that can allow us to go to different places without being detected. Third, I need a means of detecting the location of Nox Nyctores users around the world."

"Huh, you're really planning to work me to the bone?" Kokonoe said after popping the lollipop out of her mouth.

"I'm sure you can pull it all of in a day."

"HA! You're crazy…I can do it in _half_ a day, tops." She boasted with a great deal of energy, and with a smile Alex said "Great! I'll leave you to that then."

"…Does it have to be MY basement?" Kagura mumbled in sheer disbelief as Kokonoe began to walk towards the elevator in the back of the room. Before she entered it, she glanced over her shoulder and asked "Say, what do you want from Tager anyways?"

"Nothing from Tager specifically…But Shina told me that he was in contact with Noel Vemillion and Makoto Nanaya, correct?"

"Yeah, he is."

"The next people I want to recruit for this plan are those two. So once you've re-established communications make sure to teleport them over here. I'll tell you who I want next afterwards."

"Hmph…" Kokonoe popped her lollipop into the side of her mouth and murmured "I think I have a pretty good idea who you'd want next. I'll try tracking him down whenever I get a chance."

She then entered the elevator and descended to the depths, with Kagura biting his lower lip and worrying about what changes she was going to make. Meanwhile, with a chipper couple claps before her chest, Shina blurted out "Yippee! I'm going to see Noel again!"

" _So far so good…But this is the easy part. From here on out, it's going to take a little more effort to recruit the rest of the necessary players for this plan…"_ Alex glanced around the room at all the people gathered thus far, and closed his eyes while imagining the silhouettes of those he had planned to recruit.

"… _Just you wait, Yuuki Terumi. I'll make sure you pay for trying to mess with me. Your plans, your dreams, your life…I'll burn them all to nothing."_

 _Next Time: The Forgotten Friend_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Saving Private Tsubaki**

A few hours after gaining Kagura's approval, the basement of his office was cleared out of everything that he had gathered in there and replaced with most of the machinery from Kokonoe's lab. The Colonel could only watch on in sheer disbelief as his precious belongings were stuffed into a closet like they were everyday trash.

Alex's best attempt at empathy towards his predicament was to bluntly tell him to 'Suck it up, it's for the good of the world'. His office was filled with sighs during this entire period, with Hibiki only able to offer mild comfort that everything would turn out ok.

While Alex, Shina and Kokonoe were hard at work setting the new laboratory up, Valkenhayn had returned to his master's castle to grab some necessary supplies to keep Rachel nourished and happy, which included bags filled with the best tea leaves and the finest of their furniture. The vampire herself simply desired to sit around and make the occasional snide remark, for she had little else to offer at the moment.

When the work was said and done, night was beginning to fall, which brought a fatal, winter chill through the still broken window. Kagura, out of both curiosity to see what the others had done to his basement and to escape the cold, went down the elevator all by himself. Once at the bottom, he fought off a few lingering shivers with arms crossed and stepped out.

"Alright, might as well get this over with…" He bemoaned in a whisper as he opened his eyes and took in the changes before him. The room kept it's castle-like aesthetic of having brick walls and a dark, barely lit atmosphere, but otherwise it was a perfect replica of Kokonoe's lab down to the way her chip bags were lazily strewn about. Kokonoe sat down at her chair, with Alex and Shina hovering overhead as she worked on the keyboard.

"Well…Guess it could be worse." Kagura said as he approached the edge of the desk and entered Alex's line of sight. The boy poked his head up away from the computers and remarked with a dull surprise "You actually decided to come down?"

"It is MY basement…At least, it USED to be." Kagura grumbled the last part with eyes shut and a flummoxed droop of his face. Trying to get over the current circumstances, he let his curiosity take the lead.

"So…what are you doing now?"

"Well, we're waiting for Kokonoe to get in contact with Tager. Which is _somehow_ taking more than a couple seconds." Alex turned to give the Grimalkin a snide glare, and in response she spat a venomous retort.

"Oh bite me. Like you're suddenly an expert on radio frequencies!" Kokonoe closed her eyes and after a couple grumbles calmed herself down and gave a more reasonable explanation "Look, I'm a thousand miles off from my usual location. Re-adjusting the frequency requires taking into account Yakibo's different Seithr levels, pinpointing Tager's specific GPS data, and then weeding out the unnecessary static from other frequencies to avoid detection."

Shina leaned down, planting one of her squishy breasts atop Kokonoe's right shoulder while giving her a couple pats on the back. The Grimalkin, with an envious glance her way, listened as the girl smiled bright and said "Don't let him be a spoil-sport Kokopuffs! I can wait as long I hafta to see Noel again!"

"W-Wait…" Alex pulled back a bit and found himself fighting the urge to laugh. With a piggish snort and a swing of his right arm down as the left was tucked against his stomach, his ability to hold it back was lost and he keeled over laughing while trying his hardest to speak "K-K-Kokopuffs?!"

Kokonoe grumbled, while Shina stood up and glanced at Alex, finding herself a mite bit frightened at how unnatural his overexcitement was. Slowly extending her hand towards him, she asked "I-Is everything alright Alex?"

"Ha…haha! That's the funniest shit I've heard in a long time!" Alex's voice broke down pretty fast as he strained muscles he hadn't used in quite a while. Kokonoe, on the other hand, simply rolled her eyes and tapped the side of her right cheek as though she was playing a piano.

"And THIS is why I don't get out more…" By the time she was done moaning, Alex stopped laughing and wiped the tiny tears from the sides of his eyes, unaware that his uncanny laughter would linger in Shina's nightmares for days to come.

To Kokonoe's relief, a signal popped up on the monitor before her and she perked right up, exclaiming with much haste in her voice "Jesus, finally!" Before she could be assaulted by any further stupidity, she tapped away at the keyboard and the screen changed to show a profile picture of Tager's face above a box with a wavy line depicting the sound coming from the other line.

"Tager? Hey! Tager, are you there?!" She blurted out into the tiny mic atop her keyboard.

" _Kokonoe? Is that really you?"_ Tager's deep and collected voice came through with a bit of confusion in his tone, and Kokonoe quickly responded "Of course it's me. What's your current status?"

" _I'm…currently supervising Noel Vermillion and Makoto Nanaya as you requested…But Kokonoe, would you mind explaining to me why it says your signal is coming from Yabiko?"_

"There's been a change of plans Tager. I'm going to bring all three of you here to Yabiko's HQ ASAP. Gather those two up and await teleportation, no further questions."

"… _Roger."_ With that dry acknowledgment from him communications ceased, and Kokonoe began to undergo the steps needed to get those three over here in a blink of the eye. She shoo'd the others around her off with a lofty brush of the left hand, and Alex and Shina joined Kagura around the bend of the desk. The three leaned up against the wall in their own ways, with Kagura in particular cracking a smile as he wore a fine, nostalgic expression.

"Man, how many years has it been since the good ol' Academy days? …Almost feels like yesterday." He reveled in a calm, peaceful sigh before laying a hand on his chin and murmuring "Can't wait to see what type of woman little Noel's turned out to be…"

Shina nudged him in the hip with an innocuous smile on her face, then in a flash jerked the arm back behind herself and kept looking straight ahead, her heart hammering her rib cage in anticipation.

After a few more seconds, Kokonoe succeeded in teleporting the intended targets right into the center of the room. Tager commanded the greatest presence, as he was just as red and gigantic as he was the last time Alex and Shina had encountered him. Noel stood just off the side of his left calf, wearing her signature blue beret and NOL jacket. Right in front of her was a person that Alex hadn't encountered during the prior incident.

They were a young woman with short, crisp, autumn brown hair and eyes as glistening as amber. Atop her head was a cap like Noel's, only black, and her coat and boots thus had the same colors as well. Popping out the back of her coat was a big, fluffy squirrel tail that looked comfier than a warm bed. Compared to Noel, the girl appeared to have a visible bump where her chest would lie and her legs were a bit thicker.

Along with Noel, this girl took in their surroundings for a few seconds. Her eyes began to sparkle with their lips curling into an upside down "3" as she muttered with energetic wonder "Wow! So this is what the Professor's workplace is like!"

"Hmph, it's not as open as my actual lab, but it'll do." Kokonoe commented, grabbing the girl's attention as she spun around and exclaimed "Oh hey Professor! Didn't expect to see ya here!"

While Noel continued to look around the room, Shina pulled away from the wall and exclaimed with all her glee "NOEL! Hey!" Noel froze in recognition of the voice and then swung her body to face where it came from. Shina slowly approached with her hand raised high and waving, and with eyes widened in surprise she stammered "S-Shina?!"

By the time she could fully recognize the girl's presence, Noel was whisked off her feet by Shina's strong, energetic hug. Hung a good foot off the ground with her flat bosom pressed against Shina's monstrous melons, Noel let out a strange cry of fright and happiness as her arms were pressed tight against her hips, Shina refusing to let go.

"Mmmm, it's so good to see you again!"

"I-I…Same here…But could you please let me down?" Noel meekly asked as she smiled through the growing pain in her arms. Shina set her down as she would a puppy, by then the other girl had turned around and gave Shina a fiery, suspecting glare.

"Noellers, who the heck is this loony girl?" She asked pressingly, shifting her gaze back and forth between Noel and Shina. Noel, while wiggling her arms, gave the girl a pleasant smile and said in a relaxed tone "Heheh, I told you about her already Makoto. She's the girl who helped save my life twice."

"Though…'The girl who helped save my life twice' is a preeeeetty long-winded name." Shina said with a hand raised beside her giggling face, which she then extended out to Makoto and said "Just call me Shina, Shina Aurora!"

On the spot, the squirrel girl's fire fizzled out and she chuckled, swinging her right hand up from the crease of her coat and squeezing Shina's hand tight, giving it a hard, firm shake. With a tone that went from somewhat apologetic to chipper, Makoto declared "You're THAT Shina? Well schucks, sorry for calling you loony!"

"It's not like it's inaccurate…" Alex mumbled from the wall, of which he was the sole resident of now that Kagura was beginning to make his move.

The Colonel slid right into the group as smooth and slick as an ice cube and immediately took Noel's right hand into his grasp, bending down so he'd be able to better meet and kiss the top of it, all the while saying to her with all his politeness mustered "Heh, it's been a while Noel. And, perhaps it's just me, but you've gotten even prettier since the Academy days."

Her cheeks brightening with about three different shades of red, Noel looked Kagura in the face and stammered "K-K-Kagura?! I-I…wh-what are you doing here?"

Kagura began to stood up when the left side of his face winced in pain and the sound of bones crunching could be heard at his feet. Looking down, he saw Makoto's boot stamped atop his toes, and she was giving him a stern, unenthused glare while grumbling "Yeah, just _what_ are you doing here, _Kagura_?"

Though Makoto greeted him with a scorn that could scorch the world a dozen times over, Kagura countered with an unnatural cool attitude as he replied "H-Hey now, Makoto, babe…No need for the hostilities, alright? I was just greeting Noel."

"Yeah, right. Like you'll pull the wool over my eyes. You haven't changed a bit." Makoto stated, venting her disappointment with fists clenched at her hips.

"Hey, I've changed plenty. Maybe you haven't heard, but I've been made the Colonel of this region. That's a pretty big burden, if I do say so myself."

"Yeah…Bet you're just the Colonel of the Pervert Patrol." Makoto's eyelids shut tight and her face muscles tightened.

"Makoto, come on now. I swear, I'm a changed man. Can't you give me a second chance?" Kagura laced his sincerity with a bright smile and a relaxed demeanor, which appeared to be enough to lower Makoto's unease a little.

"Well…It has been a while…" Makoto began to raise her hand to shake Kagura's own, and the two did so nice and slow for a couple seconds. Then, quick as a blink, Kagura's other hand shot out and groped the front of Makoto's chest. Even faster than that, Makoto thrust her other fist out and pounded Kagura's abs with the force of a small rocket.

The Colonel was pushed back five feet and forced to hunch, his knees in the midst of wobbling as he stared into Makoto's pissed-off glare. Trying to play this off with a chuckle, he murmured to her "H-Hey, what can I say? S-Some old habits d-die hard…"

"I should've known better than to fall for your bullshit. Try that again and I won't hold back!" Makoto declared while holding her bare knuckles right in Kagura's line of sight. The Colonel staggered trying to get back up all the way, and with a pained cough he remarked "Y-You were holding back? Geez…T-Though I guess you'd have to be that strong to hold those babies up."

"UGH!" Makoto was about to fire another punch to teach Kagura a lesson when Kokonoe suddenly shouted out "HEY! If you guys want to roughhouse then go upstairs. All your bickering is doing is giving me a headache and wasting precious time!"

"She's right." Alex chimed in, clapping his hands a couple time to grab the attention of the four in front of him. When he had their attention, he gestured at the elevator with a thumb over his shoulder and said "Chop chop, lets head back to Kagura's office. I'll explain what's going on there."

Makoto looked at Alex and inquired "Huh? Who's that boy? And…why's he giving US orders?" Shina let out an awkward giggle and turned her head a bit to the left at Noel, addressing her while also addressing Makoto's inquiry "Hehehe, say, Noel? Remember that friend I told you about?"

"…Oh! Yeah, he's the one that Terumi used as a hostage back in Kagutsuchi." Noel said with great hesitance towards remembering that brutal scene.

"Just cause he's your friend doesn't mean we hafta listen to him." Makoto pointed out. Shina turned around and clasped her hands before her chest, giving them a couple shakes while telling her "I know you're hesitant, but he IS the one who wanted ya both to be here."

"Seriously?" Makoto said with a bit of surprise, to which Shina nodded her head and stood up for Alex's more positive traits "He may be a bit… _forceful_ , but he's a good person at heart. Honest!"

At the elevator, Alex closed his eyes and let out a tired sigh, with Kagura telling him in a humored tone "Heh, women sure love gossiping even when men are listening in, huh?" He looked at the boy and saw that he was unenthused, so he tried to pep him up a bit by pointing out "But hey, at least she's got nice things to say about you, huh?"

"…Yeah, I guess so…" Alex grumbled, wiggling his fingers out from his elbows. After Makoto was coerced into giving Alex a chance, the three girls made their way to the elevator. Given the limited space in the elevator, Makoto forced Alex and Kagura to one side of it while Shina was kept in the middle and her and Noel were on the other side. As they went up, Tager took a moment to address his superior.

"Kokonoe…should I follow them?"

"Don't worry about it. For now, I should recharge your systems." Kokonoe said, letting out a straggling sigh while she scratched the side of her head. Tager, meanwhile, couldn't shake the sensation that he was being excluded from something important.

Back in Kagura's office, the Colonel flung himself out of the elevator the moment the doors were open, muttering with a defeated look on his face "I…will NEVER get that close to a dude EVER again."

"Well, I think that worked pretty well!" Makoto declared in a chipper tone right next to Kagura. Noel, in her infinite kindness, gave a pitying glance and a hand to the man, who smiled as he was lifted back to his feet. Though when he was up, he crossed his arms against his chest and began shivering.

"I-I-It's still f-f-freezing in here!"

"Oh, right." Alex turned to the broken window and put his right fingers before his chest, snapping them twice, not even bothering to look at the recreation of said window unfold. As the crackling of glass forming from nothing entered their ears, Makoto and Noel turned on a dime and widened their eyes in fascination, Makoto more-so than Noel.

"Whoooooaaa! I've never seen Ars Magus like that before!" Makoto proclaimed, to which Alex had to burst her bubble by stating with a somewhat irritated tone "It's **not** Ars Magus."

"If you want to know more about the boy's peculiar gift, then I shall be more than happy to provide you both with answers." The familiar voice of Rachel called out to the curiosity lingering in Makoto and Noel's hearts, and they turned to find her sitting at a porcelain table drinking tea. Hibiki had joined her, with Valkenhayn providing their service.

"Rachel?! Wow, I didn't expect to see you here!" Noel's face lit up with joy, and she gave the vampire her purest smile. Rachel lowered the cup to the plate atop her legs and gave her a smidgen of her gaze, remarking with a hint of bliss "It warms my normally cold-blooded heart to see you in good spirits, Noel. And I see you are doing well, Ms. Nanaya."

Noel faced her friend and inquired "Huh? You two know each other?" Makoto grinned and rubbed the back of her head, mentioning with a blush "I-It's a long story Noellers, I'll tell ya later, promise!"

"For now ladies, allow me to welcome you both to my office." Kagura said, leaning up against the edge of the desk as he stretched his arms out as far as he could to show off all he had to offer, which, as Makoto would quickly comment "Doesn't really look like much…"

"Heh, perhaps not, but it's where I get all my work done."

Hibiki let out a light cough nearby, and after giving him a quick glare Kagura folded his arms back again and let out a few short coughs of his own before smiling and remarking "So hey, Alex, before you get these two up-to-date, mind if I ask them and Shina something real quick?"

Alex leaned up against the nearby bookcases and shrugged his shoulders, looking as though he was about to sink into a state of slumber rather than appear ready to explain anything. Kagura gave him a thumbs-up and said "Great! This'll only take a moment" before looking at the others. Makoto slanted her brows and sighed, willing to give Kagura the benefit of the doubt regarding his intentions.

"Alright, what is it?" She asked, an answer provided by him in a completely serious manner "Look, I'm glad to have you two here, but considering you're both labeled as traitors within the NOL means that it's not a good idea to have you running around outside this facility in those uniforms. The last thing we want is to grab Terumi's attention."

"I-I never thought about it like that before…To think we were wandering around like this." Noel commented, sounding quite ashamed at herself. Makoto closed her eyes and chuckled, saying "Having Sector Seven's Red Devil following us around probably didn't help matters either…"

"See? You get what I'm saying. So me, in my unending generosity, would like to offer to buy all three of you new clothes so you can still wander around Yabiko without grabbing anyone's attention."

"Huh? Y-You want to get me new clothes too?" Shina said while pointing at herself, and as she got a little flustered Alex peeked through one of his eyes and saw her fighting back a chuckle and grin.

"I-I mean, thank you but…I'm perfectly fine with my clothes." She said, laying a hand against the front of her chest. Kagura raised his brows and asked "You sure? Cause the rest of the NOL will probably be looking for you too."

"I'm not really planning to leave the HQ. And besides, it'd feel weird to wear something else after this last year. Heheh, it's almost like I've grown a second layer a skin." Shina meant well with her comment, but ended up inciting gasps of illicit shock from Makoto, Noel and Kagura…Much to her confusion. She glanced back and forth at them and said "H-Huh? Did I say something wrong?"

"H-How can you stand to live like that?!" Noel exclaimed in hysterics.

"All that dirt and sweat…I'm a beastkin, but even **I** think that's ridiculous!" Makoto said, her brows stretched out near the top of her forehead.

"W-What?! No no no, you've got the wrong idea! I-I'm not a dirty girl!" Shina exclaimed, flummoxed at how her words could have been misconstrued in such a way. In a haste, she explained to her peers "I still take showers while we're traveling! Thanks to Alex I always have plenty of soap and water, and my clothes stay clean and unwrinkled!"

Both of Alex's eyes shunted open, but he wouldn't be able to stop a now intrigued Makoto from cracking the widest grin and ask "Oh-ho-ho…So he gives you plenty of soap and water, huh?"

"W-Well yeah…We don't have much room in his space-faring air bubble, so when I take my clothes off he always hasta promise to close his eyes until I've given him everything. Then he turns around and washes my clothes while I use his liquids to clean myself! 'Course, sometimes it's hard to get everywhere by myself a-"

"Ok I think that's good enough!" Alex yelled as he jerked away so hard it destabilized the bookshelves and almost caused the whole thing to come tumbling down. He gave the group a mad-eye and a panicked, uneven grin, his heart racing like mad. It wasn't the best sign of how things were going when Kagura looked at him and gave a thumbs-up while Makoto turned her head and had her eyelids partway shut, a curvy grin crossing her face as she nudged her brows up and down suggestively.

"Hey shower boy, I could use some 'soap' and 'water' too!" Makoto was on the verge of laughter, while Noel just tilted her head and could not remove the confusion from her face.

"Uhhh…I-I don't get it." After she murmured that, Shina leaned her head down in shame and wiggled her pointer fingers around and around, her face redder than Rachel's eyes. But underneath her supposed guilt she hid a tiny smile, which did not go under Alex's notice.

" _Ghhh…You added that last part in on purpose Shina!"_ Though he was pissed off internally, Alex's face was bright red and he squirmed his eyes shut, his lips curling into a firm grimace, exemplifying his embarrassment.

"Ok Curly, Larry and Moe, enough screwing around, it's time to get down to business!" Alex blurted out with subdued fury, stamping his right foot down to show he meant business. The girls shifted their bodies to face him, with Makoto and Noel wondering what those names meant until he lifted his head and addressed them.

"So, you're probably wondering why I called you here."

"Yeah…" Noel was the first to response, and as she gazed around the room she continued "It's wonderful to see most of you again but…Makoto and I are trying to find someone really important."

"Oh, Tsubaki, right?" Shina remarked. Upon hearing that name, Alex slumped forward a little and widened his eyes, letting out a drawn-out "Uhhhh…"

Noel nodded her head, and Shina raised a finger beside her face and said with a wide grin "Don'tcha worry about it! Alex'll save her, rest assured!"

Makoto and Noel's eyes widened and they both exclaimed "Really?!" Hope shot out of their body and enveloped them, that feeling then being projected unto Alex via their anticipating glares. Alex avoided looking at them straight-on, leaning back up against the bookcase with his hands tucked into his pockets while struggling to reply "U-Uhh…Yeah! Sure…"

He shifted his gaze towards Shina and nudged his head to the right, telling her quickly "Hey, Shina, can I talk to you in private?" He strolled on over to the corner closest to the door, and she followed just a moment later while humming a tune. As Alex stood facing the two walls, Shina stopped a couple feet behind him and asked "What's up?" without first reading the mood.

The boy began rubbing the temples, ending off by pinching the center of his forehead in a vise and laying his palm against the front of his face. With a groan of pure exasperation, he had to swallow his pride to admit "I-I forgot all about her…"

"Huh?"

"Tsubaki…I forgot that she had been manipulated to join Terumi's side." Alex rubbed down the entirety of the front of his face, leaning his head back and letting it fall to the left so he see the understandable gleam of disappointment reflected in Shina's eyes.

"W-What? You forgot about her? How could you forget something like that?" She was trying to speak calmly, but Alex could tell that his forgetfulness bothered her deep down. However, he could not provide an answer beyond shrugging his left hand out and muttering "I-I just forgot, ok?"

"Mrrrmm…" Shina pinched her lips shut and hold a fist before her chest, then with a glance aside she pointed out "Noel and Makoto really want to save their friend from the darkness…"

" _Please_ don't try and guilt-trip me, Shina." Alex stood firm with a bit of bitterness in his tone, and after a growl of frustration towards himself he continued "Shit, before today I saw Noel for like…less than a minute, so of course I'd forget her two friends…"

Swinging his head back and then turning around, Alex rolled his eyes and gave things a little thought before lowering his head so the chin touched the chest and telling Shina "Look…It wasn't part of the plan, but I think I can add in a way to save Tsubaki and still take care of everything else. I'll just…" _"…with great reluctance…"_ "…have to recruit one more person."

Shina's eyes lit up and she pressed her hands together, and with a tilt of the head and a tender smile she whispered "Thank you Alex. I-I hope I'm not asking too much out of you…"

"…Haaaaa, it's no big deal Shina. It's my fault to begin with." Alex slumped up against the corner, retreating from the stress that conversation had brought on. Lifting his head up a little and staring at the ground, he double-checked to see if he had missed anything else.

"…Crap, now that you got me thinking I just remembered about Litchi too…"

"Oh? Her? Nawwww, don't need to worry about her! She's not on their side!"

"…What did you do?" Alex got straight to the point, and with a proud grin and chuckle Shina told him "I was able to get to her before Terumi did and tell her to be careful of him. Since she wasn't there after we saved Noel, that means she musta listened!"

"And yet you couldn't save Tsubaki?" Alex bemoaned with a begrudging groan. Shina pouted her lips and shook her fists up and down, telling Alex with a bit of bitterness "Not like I can be everywhere at once! I'm not a wizard, Alex!"

"You might as well be, but…Fine, you're right. Look, just consider yourself lucky that I can still make this plan work." Alex then pulled himself from the wall and waved a hand up at Shina while passing her by. He approached Noel and Makoto as they were talking to each other and addressed them with a dry apology.

"Sorry about that. So, as I was trying to say before…" Alex crossed his arms against the chest and after a couple coughs he composed himself to continue his earlier explanation about why the two were there, now with some modifications.

"Yes, I've brought you here because I have a plan to rescue Tsubaki from the enemy. But not only that, I'm going to kill the people responsible for manipulating her. Terumi, Relius, the Imperator, and the Phantom, I can assure you all four of them will pay for what they've done."

Alex looked up and saw Noel and Makoto looking at each other, doing little to hide the hesitation plastered across their faces. Rigorously tapping his fingers along his elbows, Alex told them both "I'm not going to force you to join our group…I won't lie, there's always a risk one of you could die trying to save Tsubaki, but-"

"We'll do it." Makoto interrupted without hesitation in her words or expression. Alex paused and looked at Noel, who stood with confidence and nodded her head, speaking for the both of them with all her heart "Tsubaki's our friend…W-We can't abandon her, no matter how dangerous it is."

"…Alright, glad to hear that. Then ladies, welcome to our group." Alex gave them a small smile, but Makoto cut to the chase and asked "So what's the plan for rescuing Tsubaki?"

"Well, I'm waiting for everyone else to get here before I divulge the plan. Sorry, you'll have to wait a bit."

"Everyone else? There's going to be more people showing up here?" Noel said with surprise. Alex gave a nod and remarked "At some point or another Kokonoe's going to track down the remaining members of our group, starting with Ragna the Bloodedge."

"Ragna the Bloodedge? Why do you need the help of that criminal?!" Makoto declared with a bit of fury, and Noel quickly turned at her and said "Makoto! He's not a bad person…H-He did save my life twice."

"Grrr, I know that Noellers, but he still destroyed two Cauldrons and killed a lot of innocent soldiers! ForGIVE me if I don't wanna breathe the same air as him!"

"T-There has to be a good reason for that!" Noel spat out, and Makoto in turn told her with great concern "Noellers, I love ya, you know I do, so PLEAAASE listen to me. Don't ever, EVER, fall in love with a bad boy."

"I-I-I'm…" Noel's face turned bright red and she shut her eyes up tight before proclaiming in an enraged fluster "Ma-Ma-Makoto! I'm not in love with Ragna the Bloodedge!"

Makoto grinned with a mischievous chuckle, telling her friend with a fiery passion "Awww, I'm just teasing ya Noellers! You're so cute when you're flustered!"

"T-That wasn't funny Makoto! I thought you were serious!" Noel replied.

"That's why it's so easy to tease you! Now come on, lets put a grin back on your face!" Makoto swung herself forward and tucked her fingers under the folds of Noel's coat, wiggling the tips against the skin under her shoulders and causing the girl to break out into a cute giggling fit.

"M-Makoto! S-Stop that…Ha…Hahaha!" The two engaged in a manner of play that only the closest of friends could enjoy, which Shina looked at while longing to experience those sort of joys with her sister again someday.

Turning away from the scene, Alex commented "Well, we probably won't hear from Kokonoe until the morning at this rate, so for now just go explore this HQ to your hearts content and get some rest. You've probably been walking around all day."

"I'll give them the tour around. Then I'll see to it that they get some new clothes." Kagura remarked. Alex waved him off without looking back, then exited out of the office. For now, it would be a time of relaxation, but when morning dawned the true challenge would begin to present itself to Alex…

 _Next Time: The Sister, Saya_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Rage and the Reaper**

Around ten hours later, when the skies outdoor teetered between the dusk of night and the dawn of morning, Alex crept his way around the Yabiko HQ while everyone else was still asleep. After making his way to Kagura's office, he used his powers to unlock the door without a struggle and sneak his way inside.

He then went straight for the elevator and descended to the basement, where Kokonoe was hard at work at her computers, a hot cup of coffee at her side. Alex walked over to the desk and noted "Can't say it surprises me you're still up. How are things progressing Kokonoe?"

The Grimalkin gave a lazy nudge of the head to look at Alex, lifting her right hand up to support herself while showing the bags under her eyes. With a drawn-out yawn, she then smacked her lips and mumbled bluntly "This branch's coffee is shit."

"Huh?"

"Ghh…How the hell does anyone expect me to get any shit done if I'm not sufficiently caffeinated?!" Kokonoe yelled out her frustrations loud enough to rustle the papers beside her. Then, as though a slave to her unhealthy norm, reached for the coffee mug without any conscious thought and took another sip from it.

"…If only that idiot was still around…" With a more subdued grumble, Kokonoe placed the cup down and looked up at Alex, raising her brows and saying in a nonchalant tone "Oh, it's you…What do you want?"

After a couple blinks Alex held his right hand aside his shoulder, remarking to her with a surprising degree of empathy "What kind of coffee do you like?"

"You trying to crack a joke?"

"I'm _trying_ to offer you a good cup of coffee, but if you want to keep being an ass about it…" As Alex mouthed off to her in an aloof tone, Kokonoe closed her eyes and shut him up with a curt "Give me an Espresso."

"Oh?" Alex raised his brows with a sly smirk on his face, and Kokonoe elaborated to him "There's no milk down here, so just keep it simple, but hot."

"…Alright, one Espresso, coming right up." Alex went around the table and took her empty mug, going to the other side of the room to begin his work. He popped into existence atop his palm a sufficient supply of coffee beans, then levitated their grounded forms before him. In a matter of seconds, he used pressurized water through the grounds to create a dark brown liquid that ended up in the mug.

Then he dried the remains to ashes and turned around, approaching the desk and handing the mug back to Kokonoe. She looked at it, analyzing it as though it were a scientific sample including giving it a thorough sniff, before taking the first sip of it. Without a second of waiting, she put the mug down and murmured "Hmph, not bad."

"Would it hurt you to say 'It's good'?" Alex said with a bit of snide in his voice. Kokonoe, going back to her keyboard as spry as a newborn kitten, did not say anything in response. So Alex just ended up standing there, crossing his arms while overlooking her progress on the monitors, until she brought up another topic.

"Aren't you too young to be having coffee?" It was a strange question for her to ask, as it almost sounded concerned.

"I don't drink coffee. I just know how to make it cause of my da-…." Alex bit his tongue tight and shifted to a different explanation on the spot "I-I mean, there was this guy I was training with who had me use coffee making as a way of learning how to control water pressure."

"…He just wanted a good cup of coffee, didn't he?" She saw through the details with incredible ease, and with a laid-back sigh Alex chuckled before noting "Frankly, he has the same taste as you. Guess all geniuses are like that."

"Hmph, I'm sure it's just a coincidence."

"Maybe, but you two are pretty similar." When Alex noted that in a somewhat chipper tone, Kokonoe stopped what she was doing and turned her chair around, keeping one hand on the desk while giving him a blank glare.

"You sure are talkative all of a sudden. What, did no one else want to talk?"

Leaning back and closing his eyes, Alex's tone deepened to punctuate the seriousness in his answer "Despite everything that happened back then…You're like one of two people in this entire building that I can have a decent conversation with."

"…You can't be serious." Kokonoe brushed the whole thing off as nonsense and squinted her eyes shut, scratching the side of her head before she told him "If that's the case, then go bother that one girl you're with."

"I wasn't referring to her, I was referring to Hibiki, but he's asleep. Right now things are…complicated with Shina."

"Well I don't want to hear about it. You're already distracting me from my work enough as is." Kokonoe noted while turning back to the keyboard. Alex creaked his eyelids open and with simple honesty said "You can be stand-offish all you want Kokonoe, but deep down you do care about what's going on."

She stayed silent, the movements of her fingers slowing for a few seconds before returning to a normal pace. With a shrug of the shoulders, Alex parted his arms and moved a couple steps to the left, asking her "So how goes the work anyways?"

"I've almost triangulated the signal from Ragna's Idea Engine, but it'll take a while before you can teleport to him."

"Did the machine break down already?"

"If it somehow did I'd blame one of you for mishandling my things…No, nothing like that. I'm just using most of this facility's power to recharge Tager. If I push the power too much-"

"Yeah yeah, it'll go out. Not like you really need Tager up to snuff anyways, he's not a part of my plan." Alex puts a hand into his left pocket and leaned a little in that direction while Kokonoe told him off "I'll do what I want with Tager regardless of what you say."

"Then don't complain to me about wasting time." Alex shrugged his left shoulder, and Kokonoe got a little more miffed in her tone as she mentioned "Well maybe I'd know what is and isn't a waste if you actually told me your damn plan is!"

"Look, I have a good reason for not saying anything. I get it's frustrating, but the sooner we get everyone here the sooner I can say what the plan is."

"…Tsk, fine." Kokonoe vented off the last stray bit of anger before she stared straight at the computer in front of her and mentioned "But…your plan isn't too bad so far. Considering you want me to build a device to track the other Nox Nyctores, recruiting Noel first was a good move. Each individual Nox Nyctores has a different power, but they all are powered by the same core."

"A compressed replica of the Black Beast…" Alex said grimly.

But for reason of her own, Kokonoe had a bit more praise to give towards the energy source. "It's a dangerous, but brilliant, idea. My mother was a genius mage, far beyond her time…"

Her tone got a little somber at the end, and she gave a quick shake of her head before focusing on the subject at hand "Regardless, the machine will still take a while to put together. It'll be easier to do with my supplies on hand, thank god, but once I'm done I'll call Noel down here and have her summon Bolverk."

"That works for me. Now, back to the subject of Ragna…" Alex leaned forward and tried to get a closer look at the computer, but Kokonoe smacked him in the face with a sudden rise of her left fist and said "Ever heard of personal space, idiot?"

With the tip of his nose now red, Alex pulled back and grumbled "I was just trying to find the coordinates for Ragna's location, give me a break."

"I told you, the teleporter won't be operational for a while, so what the hell do you think you'll even accomplish?" As she was in the midst of asking, Alex swung the Gaia Temporis from his pocket and spun it around atop his pointer finger as though it was a basketball.

"I'll just teleport there on my own." He said with a smile. Kokonoe looked over her shoulder for a moment and grumbled "Oh yeah, almost forgot about that pain in the ass stone…I'm starting to get the feeling you're just messing with me on purpose."

"Maybe." Alex replied with his smile shrinking. He then clasped the stone tight between his fingers and remarked "I just prefer not to use this for transportation unless necessary."

"Whatever, I don't care. If you want to go after Ragna now, he's in a forest south of the 12th Hierarchical City, Kukunochi." Kokonoe flicked a pointer finger up at the screen, showing a blip slowly advancing up the southern side of China.

"Geez, if we let him flounder around it'd take weeks for him to get up here. Oh well, good thing I'm here then!" Alex held the Gaia Temporis before his face and kept it between him and the screen. Focusing on the coordinates so hard that they'd be transmitted to the stone.

" _Come on, I know you can do this."_ He forced his belief upon the stone and after a couple seconds it resonated with his forcefulness and ripped open a massive, multi-colored, swirling vortex right next to Kokonoe's desk. With it came a turbulent gale that blew away Kokonoe's papers and left her glasses tilting on the right side of her face.

Scrambling to stamp some papers down and keep her glasses one, the Grimalkin yelled out "Oh godDAMN it!" and jerked her head back to glare at Alex, only to find him walking back into the portal while giving her an innocent but sly grin.

"Have fun cleaning up!" As he slipped out of sight, he waved his hand up as though he was embarking on a voyage. Kokonoe was left flustered as she began to fix her desk up, grumbling swear words towards the boy.

In the span of a second, Alex had almost crossed two large countries and landed in the middle of a large forest. Being in roughly the same time zone as Yabiko, he was greeted by the early morning chill and fog. The trees were devoid of bountiful green leaves as they had been left shrouded in frost, and the sun only just managed to peek its way through the canopy. The cold was of no consequence to Alex, and he tucked the Gaia Temporis into his pocket and began his brisk stroll.

" _Alright, now where are you Ragna…?"_ He shifted his gaze all around, shuffling his feet across the crisp, icy floor to avoid making a sound while keeping his ears open and making the wind obey his whims so he could hear any sounds Ragna might make. It was important to keep an eye out for any shadows too.

It only took a minute for Alex to hear something crunch, and he glanced to the left to see a pair of shadows advancing through the forest. Since, by all means, there was no chance of someone else walking around this time of day, Alex wasted no time kicking into a sprint and going past all the trees to catch up with the shadows.

"Hey! Ragna the Bloodedge! Turn around!" Giving a blunt greeting was enough to stop the two shadows, the taller one turning around and reaching for his blade while letting out a curt and gruff "What the actual hell…?"

"Mrrroooww! Don't worry Good Guy! Tao'll handle this!" The second shadow hopped in front of Ragna and hunched down, wiggling their tails before lunging at Alex like an uncoiled spring. The boy pirouetted around the left of the assailant, who landed on the ground and went sliding for a few feet before digging their claws into the ground.

"Wait, Tao?!" Alex said with some manner of shock, his words echoing into Tao's ears and making them perk upright, her mouth becoming a period as with a couple blinks she mumbled "Huh? You know Tao?"

Alex was about to open his mouth but found himself having to bite his teeth down as the tip of a large pearl white sword was held at the back of his neck. Shifting a little to peek over his shoulder, Alex saw Ragna gripping the blade in one hand while giving him a nasty glare.

"What's the big idea?! You just tried jumping us in the middle of nowhere!"

" _Glad to see he hasn't lost his edge…"_ Alex thought with great sarcasm before playing along with the situation, slowly raising his hands up beside his head while saying to Ragna "I have no intention of fighting. You can lower your weapon, Ragna."

"Hmph, like I'm going to swallow that bullshit." His tone, even for him, was needlessly aggressive, and he nudged the blade a little closer to the neck. He hadn't made contact with the skin, but even if his tone suggested he'd reach that point Alex couldn't sense that same aggression coming from his body and called him out as such.

"Fine, but I'm not going to swallow yours either…So, I'll say it again. Lower…your blade." Putting his faith in what he sensed, Alex closed his eyes and let the sounds of that blade being sheathed confirm that he was right. Turning around, the boy lowered his hands into his pockets and watched as Ragna let out a disgruntled sigh, curling his right hand up into a fist so tight his knuckles would be white.

Tao walked up between the two and swiveled her head with the curiosity of a child, then focused on Alex in particular and asked with a head tilt "Good Guy, d'you know this person?"

Ragna closed his eyes and grumbled, while Alex pulled his head back an inch and found himself actually curious to know the answer.

"…Do you?"

"Tsk…! Yeah, I remember you. Got the rabbit to thank for that. She told me everything." Ragna grit his teeth and buckled down hard on the subdued anger as he spoke. Alex raised a brow and pressed him on "Everything" in an inquiring manner.

"Yes, everything!" Ragna spat out, his eyes so wide that you could see the veins inside. With a furious glare, he sounded utterly humiliated as he described to the boy "Including the part where YOU tied me up like I was some goddamn pig waiting to be roasted for a luau!"

"Ooooooooh!" Tao's fascinated gasp broke the mood in two, and she poked at Ragna's left arm while proclaiming "Good guy! You never told me you were made of ham!"

"Goddamn it Tao that's not what I meant and you know it!" Ragna squinted his eyes tight and brushed the catgirl off his arm with a solitary jerk. All the while, Alex grumbled with a scowl "Oh, I am SO going to get Rachel for this…"

When Ragna focused back on him again, the boy shook his head and said "Yeah fine, that happened…But hey, look on the bright side! It wasn't **this** version of you that got tied up!"

"Bull-SHIT! I don't give a damn about time loops or any of that nonsense! It's still MY body you screwed around with!" Ragna exclaimed, his rage loud enough to rattle the dormant trees.

With a dull gaze that had his head raised only a bit, Alex told the Grim Reaper "Look, I didn't come all the way out here for a fight."

"Oh yeah? Well…" Ragna reached for the handle of his sword and began to draw out, saying as the blade was thrust out in front of his body "You could have fooled me…"

"Last I checked, this didn't end well for you last time." Alex pointed out, cracking a cocky smile that Ragna remembered all too well, which in turn furthered his aggravation.

"Heh, I can easily wipe that smug grin off your face this time around. Last I checked, I've kicked Teurmi's ass while he made you his bitch!"

Alex drew a hand from his pocket and waved it out, blowing the topic off without a care in the world "I didn't have my sword at the time. Besides, last **I** checked, Terumi was laying your ass out like a bloody carpet before you acquired the Idea Engine."

"Excuses excuses. What, you too scared to fight bitch? Maybe you should rename your 'Phoenix' form to 'Chicken' form, chicken."

"What kind of lame ass come back is that? Even Tao could've come up with a better one."

Tao just tilted her head back and forth like a pendulum and murmured with blissful innocence "Tao's soooo confused…Tao doesn't know what Edgy Guy wants with Good Guy…"

"… _Maybe I was hoping too much from Tao…"_ Alex thought with a slow, disappointed shake of the head. Ragna glanced at Tao and exclaimed "Just get to safety for now Tao, this'll only take a minute!"

"Ragna, seriously, I get that you're mad and all for what I did, but I'm not the enemy. Our enemy, the one who defeated me and humiliated you, is still out there. And…" Alex extended his hand towards Ragna, though the path was fraught with danger, and looked into his puzzled eyes.

"I came to give you the ultimate offer…A chance to put an end to that bastard Terumi once and for all."

"What?" Ragna's aggression took a momentary pause as his eyes widened, as though he could not process what he heard.

"This is another trick, isn't it?"

"It's as real as real can get." Alex replied with a terse nod. Ragna slanted his brows and stated gruffly "Yeah? Well forgive me if I don't buy it."

"Why?"

"You…the same person who had the BRILLIANT idea of using me as bait to get into Kagutsuchi HQ when he could have just busted the damn door down…Thinks that he has a plan to get rid of that bastard for good? Ha! That's so funny I could just DIE laughing!" Ragna's tone was a blend of mockery and his usual gruffness, and he still kept his blade raised towards Alex.

"…Ragna, what's YOUR plan for getting rid of Terumi?" Alex said with a light amount of mocking curiosity, to which Ragna was more than happy to smirk and answer as simply as expected of him.

"I'll kill him. That's all I need to do."

"HOW, exactly, do you plan to kill him? You think you can just go charging into Ikaruga and shank the bastard when he's not looking? A direct approach is suicidal, he'll always see you coming."

"Good. I want him to _dread_ the coming of the Grim Reaper." Ragna boasted with overbearing confidence, and what little patience Alex had shattered as he gave him a burning glare and said with slow, punctuated anger "Are you an **idiot?!** "

"It's shit like that that allowed him to trample all over us unabated in the first place! I don't get why you're being so damn stubborn about this! I'm trying to help you kill the man who ruined your life!"

"Yeah, well nobody asked for your help." Ragna's words were like a bullet through Alex's chest, one so strong that he stopped talking entirely and resigned to gritting his teeth down. The Grim Reaper turned his head aside and then grumbled to himself, sheathing his sword before turning his whole body around and remarking "This is something only I can do. So for your own good, stay out of my way."

He began walking away, Tao following after a glance back at Alex. The boy held a closed fist before his chest and could sense his heart beat increase a little. Shifting the right side of his lips up into a frustrated scowl, he thought _"It's true that nobody asked for my help, but…"_

Images flashed through Alex's mind like a scrapbook being unveiled, reminding him of Ragna's future struggles, culminating in him being forced to become something akin to the Black Beast and then attack Noel and Jin without a hint of mercy. Then, in the aftermath, the "Imperator" would create the Embryo, an unholy, spherical amalgamation of seithr that would in time devour the world. Beyond that point, Alex's memories were stopped by an influx of painful scratches to his brain as the images devolved into static.

"Ghh…!" Grabbing the side of his head and stumbling a couple steps back, the boy's left eye glistened with the release of a tear drop from the pain, and he took a couple breaths to try and relax himself.

" _J-Just like with the Guilty Gear world…I-I should be able to remember what happens past that point. I KNOW there was a sequel to Chronophantasma…"_ With a couple shakes, Alex saw Ragna about to disappear into the icy mist and swung his arm away, clenching it into a fist and coming to a conclusion separate from what bothered him _"None of that matters now. I know what WILL happen, so I have to stop it FROM happening!"_

Holding one foot forward, Alex reached deep within himself and called out to Ragna something he figured he might regret in a moment "It's because of Saya, isn't it?!" The Grim Reaper stepped down with a weightless impact, rustling the frozen leaves under his boot. The boy continued on to say "You think you're the only person who can deal with what she's become, don't you?"

Ragna then spun around and dashed right at Alex, throwing Tao off-guard with how sudden it was. He swung his hands up and wrenched Alex off the ground by the collar of his shirt, holding him right before his face, which was now twisted up in a maddened frenzy that he had only displayed before Nu.

"I am SICK and TIRED of people like you thinking you can just say whatever you damn well please! You, the rabbit, that bitch Kokonoe, you all look down on me and try to keep me in the dark on everything! If you know the truth, then say it! Come on, SAY IT!" Ragna shook Alex while making his demands. The boy was not the least bit rattled, but he nevertheless complied to his request.

"Right now, Saya's possessed by a demon of unfathomable power. There's no denying you're strong Ragna, but there's nothing you have that can save her. But I do…I know of a way to save Saya, though in doing so she'll…" Alex closed his eyes and swallowed a bit of hesitation before finishing "Well, there's no easy way of saying this…But the only way to save Saya is to kill her."

Ragna's grip tightened like an iron vise, digging into Alex's skin as he pulled him in closer and growled "Bullshit…! There has to be another way!"

"There isn't…And you already know that, don't you Ragna?" Alex raised his brows and gave Ragna a curious glare, to which the Grim Reaper ended up closing his eyes and growling with a deep-trodden scowl.

"Goddamn it…! Why? Why the HELL did this have to happen?!"

"We both know why, or rather…We both know **who** is responsible."

"Terumi…!" Ragna growled out his name and threw Alex at the ground. The boy made a soft landing but almost stumbled onto his rear, and he remarked with some empathy "That's right. Your sister may be possessed by a monster, but who put that monster inside of her? Who burned down your home, killed the nun that took care of you, and kidnapped your sister? In the end, it all boils down to that bastard, Yuuki Terumi."

Ragna gripped his fists against his hips and his scowl trembled. Alex looked him in the eyes and said "Terumi is someone you can actually kill Ragna. But not if you just go running right to Ikaruga. If you come with me, I promise I can give you a chance to take revenge upon that snake."

"…And what about Saya?" Ragna inquired in a melancholic tone. Alex closed his eyes and said "I trust that the people I send to deal with her will be able to get the job done."

"So, I'm not the only person you're recruiting." Ragna noted.

"Not even close. I've already got a few people back at our base in Yabiko, and there's some others I need to get on our side before we can launch our attack."

Ragna closed his eyes and thought on everything to the best of his ability. Scratching the side of his face, the Grim Reaper let out an aggravated sigh due to how shitty the circumstances were, then exclaimed with a pretty large amount of hesitation "Ok fine, I'll go along with your plan! But if I don't have Terumi's head within a week I'm leaving, got it?!"

"Oh, I can assure you it won't take that long. But hey, glad to finally have you onboard, Ragna." Alex extended his hand out again, but Ragna just glared at it with the intensity of a fiery dagger and the boy reeled it back in with a blank look in his eyes.

The Grim Reaper then looked back and saw Tao running around batting at the falling leaves without a care, asking the boy "So what about Tao?"

"Well, I don't need her for my plan but…" Alex brushed his hand out beside his shoulder while talking, then paused and looked at the catgirl's innocence, finding himself a little envious of it. With a sigh of reluctance, the boy shook his head and said "It's not right letting her fend for herself."

Jerking his head upright, Alex yelled out "Hey! Tao! How'd you like to eat some delicious food?!" The Kaka's ears perked up as though attracted to lightning, and she turned around and sprinted in front of Alex in the blink of an eye. Throwing her paws against his chest as her mouth became wiggly and salivated, she descended into a state of bliss.

"Delicious food?! Tao LOVES any kind of food, but delicious kinds are the best!"

"Well come with me and Ragna to Yabiko, and I can assure that you'll get all the food your stomach can handle."

"Yippee! Lets go Good Guy!" Tao turned and grabbed Ragna's left arm, using great force to drag him through the forest. Alex turned towards them and after a couple blinks mentioned "Tao…You're going the wrong way."

"Huh?" She looked back with curious dots for eyes. Alex began to walk back towards the portal he created while waving his arm in that direction. Tao let go of Ragna and scampered after the boy, while the Grim Reaper followed them both while holding his hands limp against his hips. It didn't take long to find the portal and head on through it, ending up back in Kokonoe's lab.

"Hey Kokonoe, we're back." Alex waved at the Grimalkin, who had reorganized the important parts of her desk. Ragna swung his head at her the moment he was out of the portal and exclaimed "Oh what the hell, you're here?!"

"Glad to see you too." Kokonoe responded with biting sarcasm. Ragna lowered his eyelidss and looked at Alex as he was going for the elevator, asking him bluntly "Lemme guess…The rabbit's here too, isn't she?"

"She's around here…Somewhere."

"And this place…It reminds me of an NOL HQ." Ragna got to the point of squinting, and with great nonchalance Alex responded "That's because it IS one. The Yabiko branch, specifically. But don't worry, they're on our side."

"Dissension in the ranks, huh? Whatever, as long as they don't rat us out, I'll tolerate them for now." Ragna begrudged. Before the three got to the elevator, Kokonoe raised her head and asked "Oh wait, before you go Ragna…How is that new arm of yours holding up?"

"Huh?" He turned around and with an uncaring glare at the Grimalkin responded "Fine, I guess?"

"Hmph, if you ever need it fixed, let me know." Kokonoe went back to looking at her computers, proceeding to address Alex "So kid, by my calculations it'll take me half the day to create the Nox Nyctores detector you need. Make sure Noel doesn't go to sleep until I need her."

"She's here too? Goddamn, how many people do you need for this so-called plan of yours?" Ragna asked with complete surprise, but Alex just shrugged as he strolled into the elevator and left him without answers. Once Tao got inside, the three went up to Kagura's office, where the Colonel was already waiting for them with a somewhat peeved glare.

"If you wanted to get into my office, you could've just asked for a key."

Alex stepped aside and brushed his arms out as though presenting Ragna like a runway model, saying to the Colonel "Kagura, meet Ragna the Bloodedge. Ragna, this is-"

" **THE** Black Knight? This is nuts…YOU'RE the one running this branch?" Ragna spoke with surprise, while Kagura held his arms in a fold and murmured "The Grim Reaper…Wanted for the destruction of two NOL branches and their Cauldron, throwing their respective Hierarchical cities into environmental chaos. You've killed thousands of people, some of them my former comrades in the Ikaruga Civil War. If you weren't necessary for taking down Terumi, I'd have you arrested where you stand."

"…Uhhh, nice to meet you too?" Ragna mumbled, and after that long-winded speech about the Grim Reaper's crimes Kagura cracked a gentle smile and said "But for now, while you're willing to work with us, I'll treat you like you're one of my men. Just don't go around causing trouble, ok?"

Ragna glared Kagura straight on and asked without hesitation "Is there a gas leak or something? I'm starting to get the feeling I'm the only sane person left in this building…"

Tao then jumped at Kagura and pawed at his chest, her mouth back to salivating as she demanded to know "Edgy Guy said there's tons of food for Tao to consume! Tao wants a really, really big feast Dark Man!"

"D-Dark Man?" Kagura didn't know quite how to take that, nor was he receptive to the forcefulness of this catgirl as he looked up at Alex and hastily asked "Alex, who is this?"

"That's Taokaka. For your own sake, you better give her what she wants." Alex said with a sly smile. Tao swung her arms up with abundant glee and proclaimed "Gimme Tao mountains and mountains of food! Tao'll devour it all until there's nothing left!"

"A-Alright, sure…I'll have the chefs get right on it. I-I mean…It's breakfast time anyways sooo…"

With an eat-splitting gasp, Tao reeled back and exclaimed "BREAKFAST?! That means…Pancake time for Tao!" Blowing right past Kagura with enough force to send him spinning, Tao left the office and speeded along to wherever her nose would guide her. When Kagura got his bearings, his face was wrought with fear the likes of which he'd never experienced before.

"I'm going to lose my entire culinary staff if I let her be…" Kagura, before he scurried off, looked back at Ragna and Alex and said "If you guys need to eat, you better hurry! I'll try and save what I can!"

When he was gone, Ragna's stomach growled and with a smile he said "Hey, like I'm going to pass up free food!" He ran out into the halls a moment later, while Alex just stayed behind and decided to take a seat in Kagura's chair. Placing his legs on top of the desk while leaning back, he looked at the ceiling and thought _"Halfway there…Now, time to reunite the Six Heroes."_

 _Next Time: Order against Destruction_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The Collapsing Order**

About ten hours later, Alex was sitting around in Kagura's office waiting for any further news from Kokonoe. The Colonel wasn't the happiest having him stick around when he was trying to get work done, but considering he kept getting pestered by the likes of Hibiki, Tao and Ragna throughout the day at least the boy had the courtesy of being quiet. When it seemed he had a momentary break, Kagura tried to strike up a conversation with Alex.

"Hey, you alive over there?" He asked from the comfort of his work chair. The boy, leaned back in a soft leather recliner, creaked his right eyelid open and offered the Colonel an acknowledging glance.

"What do you want?" His voice was a little bit tired and annoyed.

"You've been here ever since you brought the Grim Reaper back. It might not be my place to ask this but…You do know you can hang out with the others, right?"

"I could," Alex closed his eye and shrugged, "but I don't want to."

Kagura crossed his arms, bereft of understanding, and asked in a drawn-out manner of confusion "Oooookay? Why not?"

"I'm not particularly interested."

"That's all?"

"Look, I get nothing out of talking to them besides headaches, like the splitting one **you** are about to give me if you keep this up." Alex's lips began to curl into a scowl, and Kagura in response leaned back into his seat and took a cautious approach towards what he'd say next.

"Alright, alright, I get the point. Just let me say one more thing and I'll let up, ok?" Considering how gentle Kagura was taking it, Alex eased up on his aggravation and projected a more welcome vibe. With a confident grin, the Colonel then spoke his mind.

"I'll be the first to admit that sometimes, Hibiki does get on my nerves, but he's also taught me a lot about how to run this branch and been by my side through thick and thin. I wouldn't be the man I am today without him."

"Yeah, probably not, but what does that have to do with **me**?"

"You keep brushing other people off just because they're a little annoying, then all you're doing is robbing yourself of the chance to learn from **their** experiences. Like I said, it might not be my place to butt in, but I can't imagine it being healthy to sit around brooding all the time. So…maybe just give interacting with the others a shot sometime, alright?" Kagura ended with a wink and a smile even though he knew Alex didn't see it.

The boy raised both arms to the back of his head and crossed his legs, resting deeper into the chair. His brows twitched and the lips sunk into a stubble of a frown, which he held for a few seconds until the door to the office opened up. Noel and Makoto walked in, both of them having discarded their coats. While Noel still had the standard NOL uniform on, Makoto's choice of clothes, if you can even call them that, were much more brash.

Her outfit consisted of a thin orange top showing half her ample bosom, black strap panties with an orange skirt-like cloth, long black stockings, and orange boots. Throwing one or two envious glares at her friend, Noel tried her best to look at the whistling Kagura and ask "Y-You wanted to see us Colonel?"

"Heh, I told you Noel, just call me Kagura. Or 'My Prince', if you feel so inclined." Kagura was quick to make a move, bringing a small blush to her cheeks. Makoto, however, squeezed her eyes shut and growled.

"Get to the point Kagura." She demanded with overbearing ferocity. Fearing for his manhood, Kagura widened his eyes and stammered "O-Ok ok" before regaining focus.

"So, I called you both here cause I got those new outfits ready to go. They're waiting for you in the room next door."

"Wait, seriously? You haven't even left the office all day." Makoto remarked.

"Actually, truth be told, I didn't even have to buy any clothes. Kokonoe had prepared those for you once she knew you were coming to Ikaruga. Alex calling you here just hastened the release date, so to speak."

"Hehe, I'll have to thank the Professor later." Noel said out of a mixture of excitement and anticipation. Makoto faced her and leaned a fist against her left hip, a look of relief on her face.

"No kidding! Least now we won't be subjected to Kagura's perverted tastes!"

"Hey, I would've been reasonable…" He mumbled out of earshot, then raised his voice to suggest, "Anyways, feel free to put them on."

"Hmmm, I don't know…You might try and sneak a peek on us while we're changing." Makoto said with a burning glare out the side of her head. Noel, innocent as could be, stood up for him.

"Makoto, Kagura wouldn't do something like that…"

"If it makes you two feel any better, Alex will keep an eye on me." He commented with a smile.

Makoto turned her head a bit to look at the boy, bobbing her brows up and down a couple times with a mischievous smirk before she said "Heh, you sure Mr. 'Soap' and 'Water' over 'ere won't want a peek himself?"

"Oh give me a break," Alex gave her a burning glare, "that half-naked attire leaves little to the imagination."

"Ohoho, but you ARE imagining it, aren'tcha?" Makoto closed her eyes and seemed to be enjoying herself, especially as Alex closed his eyes and looked flustered.

"J-Just change your damn clothes already!"

"Right-o! Come on Noellers! Lets see what the Professor whipped up!" Makoto grabbed Noel by the right wrist and dragged her out, with Noel having to laying a hand atop her hat to keep it down. When they were gone, Kagura looked at Alex with a sly smirk, but the boy just grumbled and reclined back into his chair.

About forty-five minutes later, Noel and Makoto came back in with their new clothes on. Makoto only gained an orange collared jacket with folden sleeves, while Noel looked like an entirely different person.

Her sleeves were replaced with a blue collared cloth that draped over her shoulders, and her shirt was a white cloth with a mildly visible midriff and the tie still kept on her chest. She wore a belted blue skirt with a yellow stripe around the bottom, with a pair of holsters on the back that now housed her Bolverks. Her leggings stayed the same, but the boots now had a zipper at the top. The most major change was that she had removed her beret and let her hair hang down to the waist, keeping a round blue hairpiece on each side of her head.

She crossed her hands before the waist and wiggled around, a tiny smile on her face as she asked "U-Uhhhh…U-Ummm…H-H-How do I look?"

Kagura got up from his chair and went around the desk, standing a few feet from Noel while Makoto tightened her fists until the knuckles crracked and gave him a nasty glare. With a gentle smile, Kagura said "You look fantastic Noel. That outfit really compliments you."

"T-Thank you!" Noel's face turned pure red and she bowed, while Makoto eased her fists and smiled herself.

"Ah what the hell, nothing wrong with that."

"Makoto, we should go thank the Professor!" Noel suggested with overwhelming excitement in her voice. At that moment, the elevator rose up to the top and swung open, with Kokonoe walking out in a tired slouch.

"Speak of the devil! Hey Professor, thanks a bunch for these great outfits!" Makoto proclaimed with a toothy grin. Kokonoe scratched at the side of her frizzled hair and perked her head up just a bit.

"Wha…?" It took her a second to collect her bearings, as her eyes looked ready to cave in any second, "Oh, right, those. Yeah, don't mention it."

"Professor, you look tired…" Noel said, biting her teeth down a little as she stared at the Grimalkin in concern.

"You're just seeing things," She replied with her usual biting nonchalance, "but whatever, glad you're here Noel, I was just about to call for you. I need you and the kid to come with me down to the basement."

"Huh? What for?"

"What? He didn't tell you?" Kokonoe brushed a glance over to Alex, who just let off a shrug that left her frazzled.

"Ughhh, just what the hell've you been doing all this time?" She closed her eyes and shook her head, irritated beyond belief, "Forget about it, I'll explain on the way."

She made an immediate 180 to the elevator, and after a moment of pondering Noel followed after. Makoto and Kagura stayed behind, while Alex kicked off the chair, stretched his arms up over his head, and joined the two in the elevator. On the way down, Kokonoe got Noel up-to-date on what was going on.

"So…" Noel pulled one of the guns free from the holster and held it up between her face and Kokonoe's, "I just have to put Bolverk into your machine and you'll be able to find the other Nox Nyctores?"

"That's the gist of it, yeah." Kokonoe said without much of a care.

"Then…couldn't you find Terumi with this machine?"

"In theory, you could, yeah," Alex responded, his body leaned up against the back of the elevator with a stern glance towards Noel, "but that coward is hiding with his allies. The point of this whole plan is to lure him out by himself. And for that, we need to recruit the right allies."

"O-Oh…ok." Noel turned away and appeared saddened, which caught Alex's attention.

" _What, is she intimidated? Geez, I'm not scary or anything…"_

Once at the basement, Kokonoe exited out and walked over to her desk. Connected to it was a thick control console with two slots that were crafted to let the barrels of Noel's Bolverks fit in perfectly. As the Grimalkin took her seat, she slapped the top of the console twice and said "Get over here. I'll start up the program, you insert Bolverk."

Noel did just that, leaving just the triggers and handles exposed when she was done. Kokonoe fired up her computer and the wires glowed, scanning in the energies that Bolverk produced from it's core, giving the wires a crimson shade. Alex vaulted over the desk and landed behind Kokonoe, spinning on his toes and staring at the computer as it processed the information.

Numbers and letters incomprehensible to the normal eye flew on by, the fonts growing smaller and smaller until they could not be seen even with the strongest microscope. Kokonoe's computer steamed, and Noel widened her eyes and squealed "Ah! It's going to blow!"

"Calm down, that's not going to happen. This is only normal considering the type of power we're dealing with. Hell, right now, I'm running five supercomputers simultaneously just to keep up with the information output from the Boundary."

The steam turned to smoke, and Noel slowly backed off while exclaiming "Professor, I really don't think she's going to last!"

"Just a few more seconds…" Kokonoe was tightly focused on her work, tapping away at the keyboard with her fingers whirring from key to key in a blur. Even Alex began to sense tension building in his body, and took a couple steps back to keep Noel protected behind himself.

" **DING!"**

"…Ding?" Alex and Noel commented with dull confusion.

A simple sound, akin to what you'd hear coming from an egg timer, ended the tension that had built-up. Kokonoe leaned back and swiped the drenching sweat from her furrowed brow, then burst into a bout of ecstatic laughter.

"Hahaha!" She swung her head to the left and threw a satisfied glare at Alex, "You thought that'd challenge me?! Well read it and weep kid, I did it!"

Strands of hair was tangled up in her sweat, unmoving even as she blew on them in the midst of calming down. Alex edged closer to the computer and kicked up a cool breeze to help Kokonoe and remove any lingering smoke. On the screen was a map of the Asia and Europe continents, with a couple blips coming into focus on the southwestern part of China, not very far off from where Ragna had been.

"Two Nox users close to one another?" Alex crossed his arms and found that intriguing, "Say Kokonoe, can this system identify what type of Nox Nyctores are being detected?"

Kokonoe swung up and slammed her left palm into Alex's hip to force him aside, putting her fingers on the keyboard and telling him "Sure. Their cores are fundamentally the same, but their properties are different. Luckily, I have all the data on the Nox Nyctores' stored on this computer, so if I just cross-reference the data then…"

A moment later, information boxes showing off both Nox Nyctores, two different shaped blades, popped up out of the blips, with Kokonoe reading them off with dulled interest "Lets see here…We got a lock on 'Mucro Algesco: Yukianesa' and…" She stopped and laid her fingers on the edge of her desk, the fingernails scraping the metallic filings off the surface.

"'Mucro Somnio: Musashi'," Alex finished without a hint of hesitation, then clapped his hands before his chest, "Perfect, so they ARE both in the same place. This'll save me a lot of time."

"You're going to bring Major Kisaragi here?" Noel asked softly. Alex nodded his head and began to face her, only for Kokonoe to wrench her fingers around his right elbow and force him to look her way. Her eyes were wide and livid, and she bore all her cattish fangs at him.

"You son of a _BITCH_! You were planning to bring that deadbeat old man on board this whole time?!"

Alex swung his arm out to remove her grip and then crossed the arm back into his chest, putting his foot down and telling her "Yes, **I** _was_." He had no patience for her attitude, and wasted little time in pulling the Gaia Temporis from his right pocket while looking at the coordinates on the map.

Before he focused on the stone, Kokonoe leaned forward and whipped one of her tails out, showing a powerful grip by clasping the stone and pulled it out of his hand.

"Kokonoe, be reasonable. No matter how you feel about him, he's still one of the Six Heroes. His assistance is invaluable, especially with a blade that can cut anything." Alex made his point while tapping his right toes on the ground, but he could not stay Kokonoe's anger.

"You've got another thing coming if you think I'll stay in the same building as that geezer!"

Alex rolled his eyes and then looked to the left while snapping his fingers. No matter how hard Kokonoe held onto the Gaia Temporis, it would warp right back into its owner's grasp at his command. He then swung it out and opened a portal to the set coordinates, while Kokonoe shifted her glance frantically behind and forward before fixating her burning gaze upon the boy.

"Look, I'll make it up to you when I get back…" He tucked the stone into his pocket and began to walk to the portal, glancing over his shoulder along the way, "I'll tell you what I know about elemental energy, alright?"

"…Grrr…!" Kokonoe curled her fingers into fists that left her knuckles white and then pounded the desk hard enough to rattle the keyboard and frighten Noel. After a few seconds, Kokonoe creaked her eyes open and cracked a bitter scowl.

"Fine, do whatever the hell you want. But I swear, if you try playing therapist…I'll claw your eyes out!"

Alex smiled and gave a quick chuckle before he walked into the portal. Once more he crossed the continent in a millisecond, this time ending up in a livelier forest than the one he saw Ragna in. The trees were luscious green, their beauty enhanced by the glow of the setting sun. The land was quiet, not even a bird's wings being heard amongst the branches.

" _Hmm…Now, where could those two be?"_ Since a glance around the forest yielded no hints, Alex closed his eyes and tried to focus on something he could recognize, that being the ice that composed the blade of Yukianesa.

" _Northbound, huh?"_ He opened his eyes and began to stroll in that direction, taking his time to avoid making a sound. Tucking his hands into the pants' pockets, the boy's muscles stiffened from building stress as he got closer to his target.

" _This'll be interesting. After all, last time…"_ A quick flash of Jin getting the shit beat out of him entered Alex's head, _"…didn't exactly go well."_

With a drawn out sigh that left his face in a slump he kept moving on. Soon, the quiet in the forest was broken by the sounds of two blades colliding with each other. Alex poked his head up and saw sparks ringing out through the darkness, shining as bright as fireworks. With a silent glide across the ground, the boy hid behind the thick tree closest to the fight, nestling his back against the rough bark and gleaming around the corner.

Standing in the center of the open space between the trees was the familiar sight of Jin Kisaragi, who had Yukianesa partially unsheathed while holding a defensive stance. He wore the same clothes as before, but he appeared to be less unhinged than before. In fact, his demeanor more resembled Hakumen's now.

His sparring partner was someone of the same renown as said warrior. He was a two-tailed black and white cat who could stand perfectly upright, though at the moment was hunched over on all fours with a cold steel kodachi half as big as he was gripped in his mouth. Much like Tao, he wore an orange jacket with a cat-eared hood and puffed paws, though its appearance was akin to the kind of coat a wandering Samurai might be seen with. On his back was a double-sided sheath that held another blade, and covering his right eye was a steel plated eye patch.

" _The One-Eyed Twin Lotus…Jubei of the Six Heroes. The being known as the strongest creature alive."_ Alex had difficulty staring into the cat's red, thin-slit eye without his body shaking on it's own. It was not due to the beast's power that his body experienced this sensation. Rather, it was born of reverence, for he stood in the presence of a true warrior.

Jubei shifted his gaze a little to the right and let out a deep, curious hum. Jin eased up the grip on his blade and remarked "What appears to be the problem?"

Jubei stood up and moved the blade into his hand, turning towards the tree Alex hid behind. In a laid-back, guttural tone that displayed his age and sharpened instincts, he both answered and tested Jin with a single sentence "Do you sense it Jin?"

"Hmph…" Jin lowered his hands to his hips and faced the tree, giving it a stern but subdued glare. After focusing on it for a few seconds, he closed his eyes and grumbled "This is a familiar presence."

"Oh? So you've felt it before eh?" Jubei closed his eye and perked his little nose up, "Now that you mention it, so have I…How curious."

Opening his eye with a smile across his little face, the cat waved his tails and raised his voice in a lackadaisical manner "There's no point in hiding! Might as well come out quietly…Unless you're raring for a fight."

Alex winded around the trunk of the tree and stepped away with his hands tucked into the pockets. Jin looked at him unenthused and remarked "So, it was you."

Jubei, on the other hand, looked at Alex with his eye pale as snow and murmured "Son of a gun…So it was true after all." The boy faced the cat and pulled a hand out to lean it against his hip. He could tell just from a glance that Jubei didn't need more than a second to piece together who he was, that type of wisdom just came easily with age.

"Heh, never thought an old man like me woulda lived to see a second Elemental Overlord. The resemblance is pretty uncanny to boot." Jubei's laid-back excitement led to Alex glancing aside with his brows hung low and the weight of his role pressing down on him.

"A coincidence, I assure you." He said in a haste, then closed his eyes and let out a short sigh, "It may have been a hundred years for you, but it was two-thousand years ago for him. He's long dead, and I doubt he had any kids."

"That so?" Jubei paused and closed his eye, his body taking up a melancholy demeanor as he appeared to be paying respects. When he was done, he looked at Alex and smiled.

"I'll miss the lad, but I have no doubt he musta picked a worthy successor. But enough about that, what brings you all the way out here?"

"Hmph…" Jin murmured out with a hint of scorn, and Alex looked at him for a moment before facing Jubei and telling him "I need both of your guys' help."

"It's about Yuuki Terumi, isn't it?" Jubei asked, his tone getting serious.

"How'd you guess?"

"Caught wind of what happened from Valkenhayn back in Kagutsuchi. Told me that rotten snake roughed you up pretty good and used you as bait to trick your friend into giving up a powerful artifact."

"…Yeah, that about sums it up." Alex said, albeit with a bit of hesitation born of shame.

"Sorry to hear that, really, I am. Had I known what was going on sooner, I might've been able to prevent it."

" _That's right, he WAS in Kagutsuchi at the same time as Ragna…Hmph, oh well, hindsight can be a real bitch at times…"_

With a slow shake of the head, Alex admitted "Forget about it Jubei, what's done is done. Right now, all I can do is pay the bastard back tenfold. However, that's not all. I plan to slay all the evils of this world, and it's for that reason that I've come to ask for your aid."

"So, you're not just after Terumi, but Relius and the Imperator too, eh?" Jubei was quite intrigued, and closed his eye to contemplate on the matter. It didn't take him more than a minute to open up and answer "Can't say I have any problem with the idea, but…" He nudged his head at Jin, who was facing Alex but not giving him even a single second of attention from his gaze.

"Looks to me like Jin might."

Alex folded his arms and tapped his foot on the ground, asking the Major, "Is that true, Jin?"

"Hmph, so your plan involves killing the Imperator too? Have you even considered the consequences of your actions?" His response was a scathing accusation, one of which Alex would not address in the most profound of manners.

"She's a monster, who gives a shit what happens when she dies?"

"How foolish…Though I expect nothing less from one with your mentality." Jin didn't let up, much to Alex's chagrin, and he punctuated his remark with a dull sigh.

"You fail to see the greater picture. Regardless of what the Imperator is, very few know that. She is still the leader of the entire world, and killing her would only cause the order in the world to collapse upon itself. Anyone with half a brain will hear what has occurred and begin to riot, until soon the whole planet is thrown into a state of unending chaos."

"Yeah, probably, but that's really not my concern." Alex said while closing his eyes and giving a simplistic shrug of the shoulders.

"Hmph, so you will hold no accountability for the chaos your actions will inflict upon this world?" Jin asked with a lack of surprise in his voice. He began to reach for the hilt of Yukianesa, staring straight into Alex's eyes as he saw no need to react to the accusation.

"How long do you plan on fooling everyone with that mask you wear, destroyer?"

"Now hang on a sec there Jin-"

"Jubei, it's fine. The Power of Order is telling him these things," Alex parted his hands and looked Jin in the face, "but I'm not going to deny that it's wrong."

The Major kept his guard up, pulling Yukianesa an inch out from the sheath as Alex addressed him, "Yeah, I admit I don't plan on sticking around for the aftermath of this plan. But I assure you I'm not doing this out of any desire to throw the world into chaos, it's just that my priorities give me no other choice but to leave the moment I claim the artifact piece from Terumi's rotting corpse."

"You don't know this Jin, and your stupid 'Power of Order' wouldn't tell you so…But right now I'm fighting to help someone close to me save their people from the wrath of a powerful tyrant. If we don't claim the other two artifact pieces within a year, she'll lose her family to that monster forever. Quelling all the riots that might crop up around the world would take far too much time."

"…Hrrmph, then you're still leaving this world in chaos just to save another. Why should ours be sacrificed for yours?" Jin asked with a firm and unflinching stance.

"I'm not trying to sacrifice anything!" Alex yelled out with great frustration, shutting his eyelids tight and biting his teeth down into a scowl while calming himself down.

"…Look, Jin, I get the 'Power of Order' is telling you that I'm dangerous, and I'm not inclined to disagree. But the last thing I want is to end the world. I **do** have an idea on how to prevent the world from falling into chaos after the Imperator is killed."

Jin stood still and didn't say a word, giving Alex a chance to explain himself.

"I've already gotten in contact with Kagura Mutsuki, and he currently has the true successor to the Imperator name under his protection. Lord Tenjo's son, Homura Amanohokosaka, can replace 'Saya'."

"So Lord Tenjo had a child? Hmph, it seems I underestimated the competency of the Black Knight…" Jin remarked, eliciting little surprise in his voice, "but it's not as simple as installing a successor to the throne."

"You're right, it doesn't change the fact that the Ikaruga Civil War happened in the first place. But there is someone who knows the truth about what happened, and could easily transmit all that information to the Hierarchical cities. At that point, any dissenters within the NOL that wish to keep those lies a reality would be easy to hunt down and either kill or throw in prison."

"You're talking about Kokonoe, aren't you?" Jubei remarked, to which Alex turned and nodded his head at him.

"That doesn't guarantee an end to the chaos. If anything, revealing the truth to the whole world will cause the citizens to fight back against the government that fed them those very lies."

"Yeah, they would. But it's a sacrifice you ultimately have to make Jin. The Imperator, Terumi, Relius…If left to their own devices, they'll destroy this entire world. At least by killing them now, people like you and Kagura will still be alive to help quell the flames of chaos that will consume this world."

"Hmph…" Jin closed his eyes and drew his hand away from Yukianesa's hilt, placing it close to his hip instead, "say whatever you will, destroyer, but I see no reason to trust any of it. The way I see it, your path leads only to a future consumed in chaos."

"Fine," Alex's tone portrayed a man defeated, and he clenched a fist before his chest to give one last plea, "but I don't care if you don't trust me. I don't want your trust, Jin. Frankly, you're a dick, even after calming down a lot."

"Hmph, as though I care."

"But if you won't do it for me, do it for the one person in your life you actually care about. A person who, at this very moment, has been tricked into going down a dark, chaotic path. A person only YOU can help drag out into the light once more. Do it for her Jin…Do it for Tsubaki Yayoi."

Jin opened his eyes a bit and stared at the ground, then with a standoffish scoff remarked "Hmph…Jubei, are you planning on helping him out?"

"It's my solemn duty to ensure that Terumi pays for all he's done. So yeah, I'm going with the kid." Jubei said with a rather neutral tone.

"We are still in the middle of my training," Jin remarked, then closed his eyes and shook his head a little, "very well, then I'm left with no other choice but to come with so we can continue."

"Heh, alright." Jubei smiled and shifted his body to look at Alex before asking him, "So, where do we go now?"

"I came in through a portal back south. It'll take us to Kagura's NOL HQ in Yabiko."

Jin already began to walk in that direction, his demeanor as cold as his blade, and bumped his arm against Alex's own. The boy let out a deep growl for a moment and then ran ahead of him. Jubei followed, sighing at the senseless bickering between the two. It didn't take them long to reach the portal, and even less time to end up back in Yabiko.

Once back, Alex sealed the portal while Noel and Kokonoe took notice of the new arrivals. Jubei looked at Kokonoe, and with a rather forced smile he said "Hey, it's good to see you again Kokonoe."

Kokonoe turned her chair around on the spot after a bitter, sagging roll of the eyes and went back to typing on her computer. She was at it for about five seconds when Jubei let out an understanding but melancholic sigh.

"By the way, thanks again for building a new arm for Ragna."

"…Don't mention it…" Kokonoe replied, not as a daughter, but as a businesswoman. With the heavy tension between him and her, Jubei hung his head a little and snuck around everyone else to make his way towards the elevator.

Meanwhile, Noel tried to look Jin in the eyes but found herself struggling to do so. Jin was avoiding the sight of her, but did so intentionally.

"M-Major Kisaragi…I-I…"

"Hmph, what is trash like you doing here?" Jin held nothing back in his tone, even as it left Noel shaken and weak.

"I-I-I…I'm here to help save Tsubaki…J-Just like you…r-right?" She curled her arms up against her chest and shivered, the life drained from her skin and eyes.

"You? Be of assistance?" He seemed mildly humored by the sentiment, and gave Noel a cold, piercing glare, "Get out of my way, trash."

"Eee…! I-I'm sorry…!" Noel reacted out of instinct and squirmed back, looking ready to crumple to the ground until Alex got between her and Jin and gave the man a firm glare.

"She **will** be useful in saving Tsubaki. So cut that shit out, Jin."

"Hmph…Did I not make myself clear before, destroyer? I care not for what you have to say. Now, you **will** get out of my way." Making himself clear, Jin began walking forward. Alex held an arm back to help move Noel out of the way, then watched as Jin joined Jubei at the elevator.

" _I hope you're happy with yourself Alex…"_ He thought, having some regrets with his decision. His anger quelled a little, however, as Noel gave a gentle tug of the back of his shirt and tried to address him with a meager whimper. He turned around, and saw her blushing in the cheeks.

"T-Thank you…f-for standing up for me." She couldn't look him in the eyes, only offering an honest smile. Lowering his head with a hand planted in his right pocket, Alex closed his eyes and knew exactly why he stood up for her.

"Don't mention it…Seriously, don't." Though, he would never bring himself to admit it to anyone but himself.

"Anyways, I have to take care of one last thing with Kokonoe, so I'll see you all up top in a bit." He waved a thumb over his shoulder and then stepped aside for Noel to go. She made it a few steps before looking back at Alex, then running the rest of the way to the elevator. Thankfully for Noel, Jubei kept the ride up from being uncomfortable by letting her paw his tails, which left her in an enamored trance.

Alone with Kokonoe, the boy looked and saw her slumping over on the desk, her mouth seconds away from drooling.

"Heh, you gonna last much longer there Kokonoe?" He asked with a smile. She perked up and grumbled a bit on the spot.

"'Course I can. Especially since you owe me an explanation on elemental energy."

"That I do, that I do," Alex made his way to the desk and sat on it beside the keyboard, "I'll explain it as best I can. Hand me that coffee cup, will you?"

After she did that, he noticed it was still half full of coffee and gave a terse nod.

"Good, this'll help." Swirling the coffee around with a gentle swing of the wrist, Alex leaned back and laid a hand atop the desk.

"Elemental energy is in pretty much everything you use in everyday life. The air you breathe, the foods you eat, even something as simple as a speck of dust has elemental energy in it. Everything produces different kinds of elemental energy."

"For example, this coffee I brewed this morning is made of mostly water-based energy, but there are traces of plant-based energy as well. The cup itself is made of earth-based energy, and at high temperatures the steam the coffee produces would have a mix of fire and wind-based energy."

"Sounds a lot like Ars Magus." Kokonoe noted.

"In theory it could come off that way, but I'd say it's more akin to alchemy. However, whereas alchemy requires converting physical matter into something else, anything without a physical shape can have it's elemental energy converted into something else."

Kokonoe raised her brows, for once appearing stumped. With a smile, Alex pointed skyward and explained "See, take the air we breathe for example. With just a flick of the wrist, I can take the energy produced by it and turn it into something else. Like say…how I created those coffee beans before."

"However, there's some limitations to what I can convert. My powerset is based around the seven fundamental elements, therefore I cannot create or manipulate anything related to light or darkness, nor can I say…increase the gravity in a given space, or something like that."

"Also, whatever elemental energy I want to use has to go into my body first. Unless I'm 'full', I'm constantly but slowly draining elemental energy from my surroundings. I could accelerate the process by squeezing elemental energy from any given area, but that has catastrophic consequences."

"That is the biggest flaw of using elemental energy. Any given thing can theoretically produce infinite elemental energy, but that's only if said thing stays 'full' as well. If I had to give numbers to back up my explanation, then I'd say that something like this cup produces an elemental energy output of about…100 Earth-Type. If that output were to reach 0, however…"

He concentrated on the cup hard enough to make his veins pop out of the forehead. The cup shook as though inflicted by a massive earthquake, then shattered into untraceable specks of dust, it's contents floating above Alex's palm. Kokonoe widened her eyes and slammed a hand on the edge of the desk, exclaiming "Hey, that was one of my best mugs!"

"Oh, sorry about that…" Alex said with genuine regret. He concentrated on the liquid and a bit of air around him, using it all to recreate the coffee cup and hand it back to Kokonoe. Everything had been mimicked down to the exact detail, including a small chink on the bottom rim.

"The point I'm trying to make though is that if the output reaches 0, then whatever produced that level of energy is gone forever, as it has nothing to sustain it's existence."

"But you just recreated that cup."

"It may **look** exactly the same, but it's not the same. I could only create a new cup using other elemental energy, because the previous 'vessel' had been lost forever. Think of it kind of like the Theseus's paradox."

"Huh, that's more knowledge than I ever would've expected from you, but…It does help me understand the theory behind elemental energy a little more." Kokonoe was impressed, a rare sight if there ever was one, though for her that came at the cost of the sentimental value she had for that coffee cup.

"That's why I really have to be sparing with my Phoenix Form. I **could** sustain it forever if I wanted to, but that would require forcibly draining elemental energy from large chunks of any given planet in order to do so."

After a short pause to let Kokonoe contemplate over what she heard, Alex brushed a hand out beside his shoulder and said "I don't know how useful any of this will be to you Kokonoe, but there you have it. That's all I've ever gotten out of the original Overlord about how that works."

"Well, you held up your end of bargain so…Guess I can't complain. I might be able to use this theory to create something." As she said that, her eyes were a mere centimeter away from closing and she broke into a yawn. Slumping onto the desk in a frizzled heap of hair, Kokonoe smacked her lips and murmured "But…I'll deal with that shit…in the morning…"

She began to snore, sinking into the deepest of slumbers. With the docile purr of a kitten, she was in a state of mind that could be not be awoken from. Pulling himself off the desk, Alex swung his hands up and slowly brought to life a nice flannel blanket that he draped on top of Kokonoe. Then, he tip-toed off to the elevator and took it back up to Kagura's office. There, he walked in on a wild, but not too unexpected sight.

At some point or another, Ragna had wandered into the office, and as of now had his head rammed against Jin's with the tips of their noses pressed against each other and blood trickling down their faces. Jin's expression was as giddy as a kid being given candy for the first time, while Ragna was scowling at him so tight it was a wonder his teeth didn't snap right off the gums.

"You son of a _bitch_ …! Where do you get off showing your sorry ass around here?!"

"Hahahah! Oh, don't worry about that, brrrrrrroooootttthhhherrr! Cause soon, I'm going to KILL YOU!"

Both had their hands on their blades and were prepared to rumble. Noel tried pulling on Ragna's shirt, while Kagura was in the midst of restraining Jin. Jubei and Makoto stood away from it all, groaning at the top of their lungs. Even so tightly locked next to one another, Ragna was able to glare at Alex and exclaim "Hey asshole, what's the big idea bringing this piece of shit onboard?!"

"Hahaha! I should be thanking him! Now, I don't have to wait any longer to tear you apart, BROOOOTHER!"

"You couldn't even tear up a frickin' paper bag you goddamn crybaby!"

"H-Hey! If you two have to fight, couldn't you at LEAST have the courtesy of doing it somewhere that's NOT my office?!" Kagura said with a great deal of fright. Watching the scene unfold, however, only brought a smile to Alex's face.

" _It's a rag-tag group for sure, but…I get the feeling we'll make it work out in the end. Soon enough Terumi…Soon enough…"_

 _Next Time: Taming the Trinity_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Multi-Faceted**

Another morning came to be, and Alex wandered his way through the Yabiko HQ to head towards Kagura's office. Ending up at the door in a matter of minutes, he was about to force it open when a drawn-out, cutesy yawn entered his ears along with a pleasant greeting.

"Mornin', Alex!"

With a short turn of the head the boy saw Shina approaching him, her slender arms stretched behind the head and her body looking as spry as a spring chicken. Once she was done stretching, she swung a hand down and waved it before the chest, keeping her eyes shut while she smiled his way.

"Huh, you're up early…for once." Alex noted while laying a hand on his right hip, followed by averting his gaze from her direction.

"So, what do you want Shina?"

"Well, we haven't been around each other much lately." She replied with hands clasped behind her back and her body swaying to and fro.

"It's barely been over a day," Alex grumbled under his breath before properly addressing her, "besides, don't we spend more than enough time around each other as is?"

"Well, y-yes, but…" Shina turned her head and rubbed the side of her bright red cheek with a single finger, "I-I thought you could use my help."

"Hmmm?" Alex paid her a bit of heed, deep-down finding her request admirable. However, that just made it all the harder to dissuade her.

"Look, you'll help when the time is right. For now, why don't you just go…hang out with Noel and Makoto?" Wiggling his hand around beside the face, he turned back to the door and reached for the knob while Shina let out a sigh.

"Neither of them are up yet." She said. Alex's hand hesitated a centimeter away from the knob and began to open his mouth when someone else called out to them.

"Hey, what's going on here?" With a laid-back tone, it could only have been Kagura. The Colonel walked down the hallway with a confident stride and smile, stopping just a foot away from Shina.

"You're looking absolutely radiant this morning Shina," Directing his smile towards her, Kagura left Shina blushing and brushing the side of her face, "did you do something with your hair? Cause not even the shimmering reflection of a sunset off a lake's surface can hope to compare to it's beauty."

"O-Oh…y-you don't mean that." Shina spat out, devoid of conscious thought, while Alex glared at the Black Knight with his right brow twitching.

"Kagura, what do you think you're doing?" He demanded to know with subdued ferocity. Kagura faced him, taming that ferocity with a calm glare.

"Heh, easy there tiger. I was just on my way to the office. So, if you wouldn't mind moving aside, I'll open the door _properly_." Alex kept a lesser glare focused on Kagura as he stepped back and let the man open the door with a key tucked into his pants pocket.

As Kagura went inside, Alex and soon after Shina followed. Kagura turned to face Alex, who turned to face Shina, who turned back to face nothing and flinched upon realizing that. As she swung back around, she saw the two crossing their arms and simultaneously asking "What're you doing in here?"

Alex then looked back at Kagura and answered, " **I'M** here to see Kokonoe."

He then gestured a thumb over his shoulder and said in a standoffish voice, "I don't know what she's up to."

Shina sucked her lips in and shifted her eyes around, arms tucked behind her back. Kagura looked her in the eyes and said, "If she wants to stick around, I sure as hell won't complain."

Alex growled internally, finding it a difficult battle to suppress his desire to kick Kagura in the shins. Luckily, it wasn't long before the elevator arrived on this floor, and Kokonoe wandered out of it. She announced her presence with a long but vigor-filled yawn, followed by smacking her lips and giving a surprisingly pleasant greeting.

"Oh, you're all here…Morning." Her eyes were still sagging a bit and there were lines underneath them, but she was simply projecting her natural demeanor now.

"Well hello sleepyhead. How you feeling?" Alex asked with a mischievous smile. Kokonoe scratched the side of her head and mumbled, "Hmph, just needed a quick nap, no big deal."

"You went down like a sack of potatoes, " Alex said, devoid of tact, "doubt any nap would be 'quick' after that."

"Oh, ex **CU** se me!" Kokonoe exclaimed with her reinvigorated spunk, "I'm so SORRY that we weren't all gifted with the ability to be nocturnal like you, wise-ass!"

Ruffling her brows and mumbling through a scowl, Kokonoe calmed herself down in a matter of seconds and immediately said after, "Anyways, I got a lock on a few other Nox Nyctores overnight. So get your ass downstairs if you want to get shit done."

"Wait, you **still** need to recruit people?!" Kagura said, his eyes thrusting wide-open in a panic.

"Duh." Alex gave a short, curt glance over his shoulder. The Black Knight tensely squint his eyes shut and his muscles grew stiff as he crossed his arms.

"I don't think you realize how difficult it was to keep Ragna and Jin from tearing each other apart last night. Not to mention…Kokonoe's been running up my electric bill into the millions, while that 'Taokaka' chick's made countless attempts to raid my pantry."

"All for the sake of saving the world, Kagura." Alex brushed off those grave concerns with a blissful smile and made his way for the elevator. Before Kokonoe and him made it in, Kagura gave a heartfelt plea.

"Just promise me the next person you recruit won't cause any trouble."

"There's a 50-50 chance of that."

"That…doesn't leave me reassured." Kagura said grimly. Before the door was shut, Shina ran forward and squeezed her way inside. Alex gave her a glare but figured saying anything was pointless. The three descended to the basement, and then made their way right for Kokonoe's desk. There, she gave a lofty wag of the hand at the three blips on the screen, all of which were spread across China.

"'Arma Reborae: Muchorin', 'Phoenix: Rettenjo', and 'Deus Machina: Nirvana'…All of them are roughly in the same area, so you could probably gather their users all-"

"That won't be necessary, I just need Muchorin's user." Alex cut Kokonoe off, making the Grimalkin shrug her shoulders.

"You sure about that?" She asked without much of a push, "Rettenjo would be useful, considering it's supposed to be capable of nullifying Seithr."

"And wouldn't ya want Carl to fight Relius?" Shina inquired quite a bit more pressingly than Kokonoe.

"Hell no, Carl's too weak. I have someone much better suited in mind to face that asshole," Alex then looked at Kokonoe, "and as far as Rettenjo goes, we really don't need Seithr nullification. No, Muchorin will do just fine."

"Alright, if you say so." Kokonoe shrugged again and typed at the keyboard, popping up the coordinates for Muchorin's user.

"Seems they're somewhere close to the Hierarchical city of Nozuchi."

"That so? Well, I'll open a portal then." Alex did just that in a matter of seconds, but then immediately tucked the stone into his pocket and patted Shina on the left shoulder.

"Well Shina, that time to be useful has come sooner than expected. I'm leaving the recruitment of Platinum up to you."

"H-Huh?!" Shina turned to look at Alex, but ended up shifting the other way to look over her shoulders as Alex went behind and gave her a soft nudge on the back with both his palms. As she edged closer to the portal, she worked fast to get some answers.

"Why me? Why now? Wait! How am I supposed to-" She was through the portal before finishing, and Alex brushed his hands off and let out a sigh of relief.

"Ok good, that'll keep her occupied for a little while…" With a weight lifted off his shoulders, he turned around to Kokonoe and was met by her stilted, curious glare.

"What are you up to now?"

"Why, nothing at all…" Alex said with great nonchalance as he raised his hands beside his face and gave a sly smirk towards the ceiling, "And even if I was, would you honestly care?"

"…Hmph." Kokonoe faced her computer and went back to work. Relaxing himself, Alex went to the elevator and rode it back up to Kagura's office. Once he arrived, the Colonel turned the desk chair he sat in and raised his brows.

"Back already?"

"I left Shina to deal with the next recruit. Say, have you seen Valkenhayn at all recently?"

"I…think he's in the courtyard?" Kagura replied, keeping a bead on Alex with a stare as blank as the papers he had on his desk.

"Sounds about right. Alright, later!" Alex waved a hand up beside his shoulder and headed out the door without another word. Kagura tilted his head then lowered the papers in hand onto the desk. Planting his feet on the ground, he let out a highly intrigued chuckle.

"Well now…Just what are you up to?" He left the comfort of his chair and crept out after the boy.

Alex headed straight for the outdoors in the center of the building. There, resting in a chair amongst the fragrant boutiques of native flowers, was Rachel. Nago kept to his parasol form, acting as the shade to protect her from the sunlight cast into this cozy courtyard. Valkenhayn was at her side, admiring the scenery as only the chirps of idle birds could offer disturbance to their relaxation.

"Are you comfortable, Madame Rachel?" He inquired with subdued serenity. The vampire closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, laying her hands atop the wrinkled folds of her dress.

"The breeze is simply splendid, Valkenhayn. It is as though I am adrift in a midsummer's dream…" Without so much as budging, she then inquired, "Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Whiter?"

Valkenhayn turned his head and the docility present upon his face was burned away to be replaced with his irked scowl.

"Oh, it's **you**. I hope you aren't planning on disturbing the poor Madame with your roguish shenanigans."

"Not this time," Alex stopped a few inches away from Valkenhayn and looked him in the eyes without fear, "I was looking for you, actually."

"Beg pardon?" He eased up just a little and stared at the boy as though he had lost his mind, "I can't imagine what you'd possibly want with me."

"I want you to teach me how to cook…please." Alex cut to the chase, his hands tucked into his pockets as he closed his eyes, knowing he'd get embarrassed if he stared at him for too long after.

"My my…Do my ears deceive me so? Surely, I did not just hear the legendary Elemental Overlord admit that he doesn't know how to cook…" A smile crossed Rachel's face as she peered her eyes open a bit.

"I-It's not that I don't know! I-I've just gotten so used to using my powers to create food that my skills have probably gotten rusty, that's all."

"So you figured that you could come to me for help in reinvigorating that spark for cooking?" Valkenhayn remarked, to which Alex nodded his head. The butler thought for a few seconds and then smiled, bearing no ill-will towards the boy.

"Hmm, since you asked so kindly, I suppose it'd only look unfavorably upon me if I declined. That is, assuming it's alright with you, Madame Rachel…" He gleamed over the shoulder for approval, only to find his mistress off the chair and standing beside the butler.

"Why, not only do I approve of this intriguing juncture, but I shall also partake of it myself. After all, what is a cook without a critic of regal and refined tastes nipping at their heels?"

"One who doesn't have to worry about stress while cooking…" Alex grumbled under his breath. With a gentle brush of her hair, Rachel then looked straight ahead and began to make her way to the building.

"Come along now Mr. Whiter, it is in poor manners to keep a critic waiting…" She sounded, in her own dull, posh tone, humored as she teased the boy, who sighed before he followed her and Valkenhayn towards wherever the kitchen may be.

 _Meanwhile, back with Shina…_

"-recruit…" Pushed out of the portal, she turned around and saw that Alex hadn't followed, causing her to leave her pointer finger drooping and murmur dryly "…Platinum…"

Folding her arms beneath her perky bosom, Shina puffed her cheeks and went, "Oh bother…"

"Why did he hafta send **me** to recruit Platinum?" She closed her eyes and looked around, finding herself on a cold mountainside overlooking the Hierarchical City of Nozuchi. Unlike Kagutsuchi it didn't reach for the sky. It stayed relatively low to the ground, which was also just far enough away from the seithr on the surface. It was surrounded by a stone wall resembling the Great Wall of China itself, but with plenty of gates to allow people in and out as they please. The buildings inside the walls, however, resembled those of Orient Town back in Kagutsuchi, and of course an NOL building was erected in the center.

Her body soon became riddled in shivers from head-to-toe, and she hunched over to cover the front of her chest with her arm while a cold, vapid fog coming out with every breath.

"A-A-Alex, I **will** have words with thee…" She groaned as hairs perked up on end around her arms. Looking down at the lands around the city, she tried to stay focused on her given mission.

"L-Lets see…K-Kokonoe said they weren't IN the city so…" Closing her eyes, she tried to sense the aura of her target. Though it was but a miniscule blip in the darkness, she found a light-blue aura slowly advancing towards the city. Since there were no others in sight, Shina was able to force a sigh of relief through clattering teeth.

"G-G-Good…! I'll round 'em up and get back pronto!" She kicked off the mountain lightning fast and flew straight for her destination, turning around only to remember the location of the portal, and repeating it ad nauseum just to be safe.

On the ground near the outskirts of the city, a small child wrapped up in a tattered, cream colored hooded cloak walked along the windy, grassy plains, a large golden cowbell attached at their neck and a staff covered with belts and a black bag on their back.

"Luna…I think we're lost…" A soft-spoken, young male voice spoke to himself with great concern.

"Lost?! Don't give Luna that crap Sena! Luna knows exactly where we're going!" Then, a contrasting shrill and rude young female voice yelled to themselves.

"I don't think Nozuchi's the part of Ikaruga we're supposed to be at…"

"N-No! You don't know that! Shut up Sena, you're stupid!"

"…Haaaa, why did we split up from Master Bang? He would have known where to go…"

"Luna don't need no stinky old man telling Luna where to go! Luna controls her own destiny!"

"That's not very nice Luna, Master Bang was really nice to us, just like Mr. Jubei…"

"Ghhhh, s-shut up Sena! That old man was NOTHING like Mr. Jubei!"

As the two continued to bicker within the same body, they were unaware of Shina landing ten feet behind them. She looked and listened with arms limp beside her hips, taking a cautious approach towards the person once she rid herself of the hesitation on her mind.

"Ummm, excuse me! Luna! Sena!" Even with how loud their bickering got, Shina's voice broke through it and caused them to stop. The person turned around and stared straight at Shina, who waved her hand and up and gave them a warm smile.

"Sena, why's does this random-ass hoe know our names?" Luna 'whispered' from the left side of the mouth.

"L-Luna! That's rude!" Sena whispered from the right side of the mouth.

"What?! I'm just saying it like it is! Bitch's tall as a giraffe and has the boobs and ass of a goddamn heifer!"

"W-Well, yeah but…M-Maybe she knows Mr. Jubei?"

"Are you implying Mr. Jubei's into prostitution Sena?! Luna oughta slap the stupid out of you for that!"

"…We're in the same body, Luna."

Staring at them with a few blank flutters of the eyelashes, Shina cracked a tiny frown and said, "I-I can hear everything you're saying. Ya don't have to be so rude…"

The person looked at Shina and Sena's voice came out, "I-I'm sorry miss. I'm sure Luna didn't mean any of that…"

"Like hell I didn't! So out with it you Lumbering Tits-an, whaddya want with us?!" Sena sighed in grief right after.

"… _Even the kids I babysat back home weren't this bad."_ Shina bemoaned with an already defeated look on her face.

" _B-But they're still just kids. S'long as I don't lose my cool, I should be able to convince them to come with me."_ Shina then looked at the child, only to find no words making their way to the tip of her tongue. She widened her eyes into a blank glare and blinked twice, doing her best to hide an awkward gulp of saliva.

" _Shoot! That's right! I don't even know why Alex wants Platinum!"_

She looked down at the child with Luna blurting out mercilessly, "Well?! Out with it already Rackula!"

"Oh, well, y-you see…!" Choking for an answer at first, Shina snapped her fingers before her chest and then waved a pointer finger right at the child, "There's these evildoers that need to be stopped, and I thought I could get the help of the legendary magical girl Platinum the Trinity!"

Shina held her posture for a while as the child stared at her, the hood visibly raising from how high their brows must've gone. After a few more seconds, Luna had a response.

"Da fuuuuuuuuuck?! Sena, this hoe's off her goddamn rocker! The hell is a magical girl anyways?!"

"W-Well, considering what we normally wear…"

"Shut up Sena, Luna wasn't asking you!" The child then swung up their right pointer finger and threw scathing accusations Shina's way, "You're insane, Boobzilla! Luna ain't got time to listen to loons!"

"B-But Luna, she might be referring to that snaky guy Mr. Jubei's going after…"

"Exactly!" Shina snapped her fingers out, but Luna was not going down that easily.

"You're too friggin' gullible Sena! Don't you see this hoe's just trying to kidnap us for her own perverted ends?!"

"W-W-What?!" Shina was so taken aback that she was on the verge of laughing. The over-the-top accusations from Luna were bringing a smile to her face, and she humored them as best she could.

"You're being silly now. I'm just an innocent girl looking for your help!"

"Yeah, help getting off like the sick pervert you are! Well Luna ain't gonna fall for your tricks!" The child spun around and began to dash off.

"H-Hey! Hold on there!" Shina, with her longer legs, was able to catch up to them with a quick sprint forward, where she tagged the back of their cloak with her right hand and tugged on it. The child squirmed around and then with one vibrant spin threw it right off to escape.

Underneath the cloak was a very young girl in a sleeveless white shirt with buttons and blue lining, the magical girl appearance completed by a blue skirt. She has large cuffed white gloves and similar colored shoes with heart-shaped toe guards, all of which looked too big for her tiny limbs to wear. Her hair is a peachy blond, capable of reaching her ankles even when tied up into two long ponytails. A minty green headband around her head and a big ribbon around each pigtails finished the ensemble. Her eyes were rather odd, having large heart-shaped pupils outside of the dark green irises.

The child took advantage of Shina's daze by bending over and slapping their bare rear a couple times, pulling their right eye down with a finger and sticking their tongue out.

"Haha! Get owned, skank! Luna ain't getting captured for your kinky sex dungeon!"

When the child was back up and running, Shina puffed her cheeks out and swung her hand up into a fist, summoning a wall of aura that the child rammed head-first into and fell onto the rear. Giving it a short rub, they got up and looked at the wall.

"L-Luna, what is this?"

"Awwwwww shit! This bitch's packing magic! This is bad! She's a SUPER kinky skank!"

"W-Will you two just clam down and listen to me for a sec?!" Shina said, her voice growing increasingly flustered. The child spun around and reached for the wrapped staff on their back. Whipping it out beside their body, the bondage began to come undone.

"Luna told you, Luna ain't getting captured!" Underneath the wrapping was a tall pink and golden staff, topped with a hollow heart with a red glowing jewel in the center.

" _Muchorin! Shoot, guess I have to-"_ Before Shina summoned her rapier, the child hopped on top of the Nox Nyctores like it was a witch's broom and took off to the air, flying straight over the walls of aura and stone to head into the city.

"LA-A-ATER LOOOOOOOOSERR!" Luna's echoes of mockery still reached from that far away.

Staring into the sky for a little bit, Shina's face soon turned red with rage and she screamed at them, "Y-You naughty kids, get back here right now!" Then she kicked off the ground and flew after them into the city.

 _Back in Yabiko…_

With Valkenhayn's help, Alex has managed to moved the kitchen counters, ovens, grills and fridge out into the HQ's cafeteria so Rachel would be able to observe from a raised stool. Pans were set, knives and other essential utensils like whisks and prongs were laid out, and a few meats and vegetables had been handpicked by Valkenhayn. Alex found himself a little overwhelmed by everything that was there, and gave a slow scan of it all as the butler finished preparations.

"So, what first Valkenhayn?" Alex looked at him, and saw him holding a bundle of already peeled carrots in his hand. He laid them out all neat in a row on top of a glass cutting board, then crossed the hand before his chest and stood as still as a statue beside Alex.

"We'll start with the basics. Knowing how to cut properly is a prime necessity for all culinary concoctions, no matter what your tastes may be."

Alex went straight for the long, sharp cutting knife and laid his hand atop the carrots to hold them down. He placed the knife even above the ends, and though his heart drummed a nervous beat he had a smile of confident as he said, "No big deal really, it's like cutting with a sword! That much I remember."

"Then I can only feel sorry for your poor thumb if that's how you wield your blade, Alex Whiter."

Alex pulled his head up and jerked it to the left, his heart skipping a beat thanks to the sudden appearance and shrewd comment by Hibiki. The Captain stood there as though he always was present, and for a moment Alex had to lay a hand on his chest to make sure he was still alive.

"H-Ha…You have GOT to stop doing that Hibiki!"

"My apologies. I heard a commotion in here and had assumed Lord Kagura was fooling around again. I'm glad it just turned out to be you three."

"I hope you do not mind us using your facilities for the sake of this boy's tutorage." Valkenhayn humbly wished to know.

"Not at all, Lord Valkenhayn," Hibiki responded with a docile grin, "In fact, if I'm not intruding, I wish to offer my knowledge to your cause as well."

"Why, I see no reason at all to deny your request, Captain Kohaku. Let us work together to teach this young boy some proper etiquette, shall we?"

"…" Alex blinked a couple times then gave a dry glance back at Valkenhayn, "Waaaaait, I thought I was learning how to co-"

"Now, Alex, if you wouldn't mind lending me that knife for a moment." Hibiki interrupted with purposeful intent as he slid his way in beside the boy and extended a hand towards him. Alex turned back and spun the knife around, handing it over handle first.

Alex then took a couple steps back, letting Hibiki position himself in front of the carrots and line the blade up properly. He stared at them without a hint of emotion and tucked his thumb underneath his other fingers, which were still spread out to hold the carrots down. The knuckle of his thumb rubbed against the cold steel as it was raised an inch from the carrots.

Then, Hibiki cut down onto the carrots with one swift and clean slice. As he did so, he glided his hand a couple millimeters further to the left and chopped down again. He repeated this process with such speed and precision that it wasn't so much that his hands were moving, but rather like the carrots themselves were being guided down a conveyor belt to be processed into smaller chunks. Every cut left the carrots pieced into the same sized chunks, and Hibiki didn't so much as flinch even with how close of an encounter his knuckle had with the knife every time.

Alex stared, entirely focused on the level of mastery Hibiki had reached with his technique. Even Valkenhayn found his mouth left agape and speechless at what he was seeing. All the while, Hibiki had the brainpower to multitask explaining into his cutting.

"Cutting vegetables requires three things…Precision, timing, and speed. Be even an inch off, and you'll never cut through all the way. Fail to cut at just the right moment, and you'll be the one paying the price. And if you aren't fast enough, then you'll never truly be able to call yourself a master of this technique."

He stopped right at the edge of the carrots, clamping them into his hand and swinging it out to throw them right at the trash, where they all hit their mark in a perfect, spread-out line. Hibiki stood up and laid the knife adjacent to the carrots pieces, which all stood upright on the cutting board.

He looked past Alex and Valkenhayn and remarked, "Isn't that right, Lord Kagura?"

Alex turned around and found Kagura snooping around from behind the doorframe, and with a tilt of his head back he said, "Oh come on, you too?!"

"O-Oh hey! Fancy running into you here while I was in the middle of my early morning exerci-"

"Lord Kagura, are you interested in watching?" Hibiki wasn't stern but rather intrigued, and Kagura pulled himself out from cover with a tight grin on his face.

"'Course I am. I might never get to see a sight like this again." He then walked into the room and made his way over to the counter, his right foot kicking up against something and causing a sharp "MRRROWW!" to ricochet into everyone's eardrums.

After a short pause deafened by the sound of someone being muffled, Rachel closed her eyes and let out a humdrum sigh, while Alex drooped his eyelids down and crossed his arms. Tapping a foot on the ground, he lost all sense of care in his voice, "Ok, anyone else hiding better come out right now."

On cue, Noel, Makoto and Tao rose up from behind the counter like they were stiff hand puppets. Makoto had that curvy, mischievous smirk and glistening eyes while Tao's mouth was shaped like a 'v'. Noel was the only one with the courtesy to say something while wearing an awkward grin.

"I-I'm sorry…We just heard the commotion and…and Makoto thought it'd be fun to hide and see what happened."

"…And Tao?" Alex asked with a tilted glance at the catgirl.

"Meow! Tao just wants good food Edgy Guy!"

"Well this was SUPPOSED to be just between me and Valkenhayn…" Alex grumbled, sealing his eyes until the brows began twitching.

"Why, is this not more beneficial for your intended purpose, Mr. Whiter?" Rachel chimed in with a small but sly grin, "After all, what better way to judge the implementation of your teachings than to receive the critique of those with differing tastes?"

The vampire glanced left then right and said, "Noel, Tao…I would like for you to join me in critiquing Mr. Whiter's food."

"Meow? What is…crit-tiki-ing?"

"Why, it's where you eat and judge other people's food." Rachel was glad to explain.

"Tao heard 'eat' and 'food' and that's good enough for Tao!" Tao sat herself down on a chair and spun around, planting her paws on the counter and slapping it down a couple times.

"Gimme food Edgy Guy! Tao'll 'crit-tiki' it real good!"

"I-I don't mind helping, but I have to ask…" Noel sat herself on the chair next to Rachel and gave her a curious look, "Why is Alex trying to learn how to cook?"

"Heh, isn't it obvious Noel?" Kagura smiled, brimming with so much confidence in his knowledge that Alex knew it could only mean trouble.

"Our young man here is doing all this to impress the love of his life, Shina."

Noel is the only one to let out a gasp, her eyes glistening bright with shock and awe. Alex, however, glared at Kagura with his face bright red and lost his cool.

"S-Shut up! T-That's…stupid!" He swung his fists at his hips and looked like a child in the midst of a tantrum. Noel, however, viewed him in a more sensitive light than she ever had before.

"Making a meal for someone you love? T-That's so romantic! Awwww, now I'm kinda jealous of Shina…She's so lucky." Praise and glee soon turned to melancholy, and Noel bit her lower lip and stared at her hands nestled above her legs.

"Ah, don't worry about it Noellers! You're sure to find that special someone someday!" Makoto patted Noel on the back and gave a playful rub of her hair. Standing by, Kagura clicked his tongue and swung a pointer finger at Noel, only for Makoto to glare and shoot him down.

"I said 'special' not 'stupid'."

" _G-God, this is so embarrassing! Why did a simple lesson have to turn into this stupid ass mess?!"_ Alex was frustrated to the point that he was considering stamping out of the room to get some air, but cuddled in the middle of all his rage was a sense of guilt that he knew would only grow if he acted out in such a vulgar manner.

"… _It's just like Kagura said…Have to take the good with the bad."_

Breathing in deep and letting out an even deeper sigh, Alex laid his hands in his pockets and looked at Valkenhayn and then Hibiki, telling them apologetically, "Sorry about that…Do you still want to keep working?"

"But of course." The butler said with a small grin.

"Don't let Lord Kagura's lack of tact dissuade you. Rest assured, your secret's safe with us." Hibiki said, giving a short nod in the process.

"Though hey, since we're here and all, perhaps it's time I told you some of the ins and outs on dealing with a woman," Kagura interjected, closing his eyes and being all-too ready to spill the beans, "You see-"

His face quickly met with the bowl of salad dressing at the edge of the counter, courtesy of Makoto Nanaya. She held him down at the back of the head and squinted her eyes all unenthused.

"Last thing the world needs is another you."

Kagura gurgled in the dressing, causing bubbles to form on the surface. Rachel looked on and closed her eyes, commenting in a disapproving manner "Ms. Nanaya, please cease what you're doing at once."

"Huh?" She pulled Kagura's head out and he gasped for air, then licked some of the dressing off his face and let out a satisfied hum.

"You do that dressing a disservice by tainting it with the skin of such an unscrupulous swine."

"Oh, you're right!" Makoto said in a chipper tone, while Kagura coughed the last bit of dressing from his throat and crossed his arms, remarking in a quiet, nonchalant tone, "Ouch…That stings a little."

As Alex prepared another set of carrots on the chopping board, he looked at the antics and hid a brief smile from everyone's sight. Closing his eyes and hearing his heartbeat slow to a normal pace, he found his earlier anger a thing of the past.

" _Though, I guess this is kinda fun…Hopefully Shina's having fun with Platinum too."_

 _Back in Nozuchi…_

"Will both of you PLEASE just slow down?!" Shina pleaded as she chased the child through the crowded, bricked streets of the city, her tone flagrant in it's frustration.

"Take a hint already ya big-breasted hoe!" Luna exclaimed as she stayed ahead of her pursuer through the merit of her diminutive size alone, which made slipping between the citizens' legs easy as 1-2-3.

"I am NOT a hoe!" Shina cried out with her face a flustered shade of crimson, "Or a slut, or a prostitute or whatever other profanities you've been calling me! Who even taught you those words?!"

"Luna, I-I think this has gone far enough." Sena meekly spoke out. Though, not even the nastiest of demons would be able to quell Luna's childish, stubborn agenda against perverts.

"Shut up Sena! Luna's doing this for YOUR own good too!"

"W-What? But Luna, she doesn't mean us any harm…"

"Don't fall for her feminine wiles you idiot! Luna can tell just by looking into her eyes…The desperation, the sheer DEPRAVITY! She wants you badly Sena!"

"W-W-What?!" Shina screamed with disbelief so resounding that she almost blew her own ears out.

"Yeah! She's a hardcore Shotacon! And you're like…prime Shota material Sena!"

"…I don't think that works with our body the way it is Luna…" Sena didn't even know why he was bothering anymore.

"S-So what?! That just means she's into Reverse Traps!"

"WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU LEARNING THIS STUFF FROM?!" Shina absolutely DEMANDED to know as she finally brushed past the crowd and had the child cornered against the wall of a house. The two stopped and caught their breaths, with Shina hunching over and laying her hands on her kneecaps.

Perking her head up and brushing the sweating underside of her chin, Shina struggled to stay polite as she asked, "P-Please…No more running away now, ok?"

The child gave off a sly grin and swung her staff up, making it project a bright glow from the jewel. Then, in the blink of an eye, the staff transformed into a springy pogo stick that they leaped onto. Shina's glare thus became drained of patience and care, especially as Platinum stuck their tongue out and went, "Nyah Nyah! Sucks to be you, you shameless, slutty, Shotacon!"

They then sprung on up to the rooftops. Shina, face red from exhaustion and rage, thrust her head up and screamed, "I DON'T LIKE LITTLE BOYS, I LIKE LITTLE SISTERS!"

Pinching her mouth shut, she suspended her fists diagonally beside her hips and after a couple seconds leapt towards the roofs while yelling "GIT BACK HERE YOU RAPSCALLIONS!"

She broke right into a hot pursuit the moment she landed on the roof, following the child as they bounded across multiple buildings. With eyes furious as the stare of a bull, Shina roared out to them, "You naughty kids are gonna get a spankin'!"

"I bet you'd like that, wouldn't ya?!"

"UGGHHHHH!" Shina's nostrils flared open in tune with her flummoxed grunt, and she swiftly pulled her sleeves up to the shoulders and gave her biceps a good flex in the process. Then, she put years of PE classes to good use by throwing all her weight into a forward lean while swinging her arms back and forth, doubling her speed and causing her feet to start kicking the plates off the rooftops.

The child looked back and widened their eyes as they stared into the rare sight of a straight-up MAD Shina, and Luna exclaimed in shock "W-What the hell?!" just moments before Shina lunged off the ground and tackled them in the back.

Luna and Sena both screamed in a panic as the three of them were sent spiraling down into an alleyway, with their body's arms flailing with the speed of hummingbird wings. Shina, however, created a soft bed of aura just in the nick of time, which cushioned their fall and bounced them off onto the ground nearby. The child went rolling out of Shina's arms, and Muchorin plopped down between them a moment later.

Catching her breath with a few heaves of the chest, Shina pushed herself up and look over at the child, whose eyes had become spinning spirals. Shina blinked nice and slow while finishing catching her breath, but every time she blinked she noticed that the child had a mix of three different auras in their body. One blue, one pink, another a light platinum.

" _Three auras? Well, one for Luna, one for Sena, and one for…"_ Shina paused on the name of the third while sucking her lips inward. After a dry smack she looked away from the child and slapped the side of her face nice and hard.

" _Oh, that makes sense…Alex didn't want me to recruit Luna and Sena. He wanted me to get Trinity of the Six Heroes."_ She closed one eye and peered at the auras, noticing that the platinum one was a fist-shaped sphere in the center of the other two.

" _But Trinity is dormant. Unless…"_ Shina raised her hand up and closed the other eye, focusing on that platinum aura. She poured a little bit of her own aura into that alone and caused it to expand until the other two auras were just around the edges of the body. Shina then let go and her hand drooped before the waist.

The child's eyes shut for a few seconds as the body let out steady, healthy breaths. Shina watched as, nice and slow, the child awoke and lifted themselves. They murmured and stirred to life, but now their voice sounded like a much more refined and mature version of Luna's own. Opening their eyes, the heart-shaped pupils were gone.

"H-Huh?" Was this voice's first remark, as they swayed their head left and right until ultimately focusing straight at Shina.

"Who…are you?" Their voice was tired and serene, laced with just a hint of confusion.

"Trinity? Trinity Glassfille?" Once Shina got a slow but confirming nod from the child, she breathed a sigh of relief and then laid a hand on her chest with a smile, "My name's Shina, Shina Aurora."

"Aurora…" The child closed their eyes and repeated that name a few times, making it sound more familiar with each utterance.

"I've…heard that name before."

"Was it from a man named Gabriel?"

"Oh! Yes! It was!" Trinity gasped in realization, then stared into Shina's eyes, "My apologies…I didn't realize you were an Aurian. It's been so long since the Dark War…"

"Awww, think nuthin' of it!" Shina smirked and blushed, taken aback by just how polite and lady-like Trinity was behaving.

"I see then…It is because of your powers that I was able to awaken in these two's body for the time being." Trinity remarked, still somewhat tired.

"Which means you must require **my** assistance specifically. How may I be of service then, Shina?"

"Well…It's about Yuuki Terumi." Hearing that name put a disheartened frown onto the child's face, as Trinity began to somberly reflect upon regrets past.

"Yuuki Terumi…Yes, I'm well aware that he's returned, for I have seen his new vessel 'Hazama' through the eyes of these children."

"Yeah, and…" Shina went over all the important details up to this point, with Trinity being very attentive the whole time.

"And that's why we could really use your help, Trinity."

"I-I'm so sorry for all the trouble Terumi has caused. If it wasn't for me, none of this would have ever happened…"

"Huh? Oh, no, don't blame yourself Trinity!" Shina shook her head and insisted with the utmost honesty, but Trinity just sighed and was draped in an unending melancholy.

"No, I must. A long time ago, before the Dark War, there was a man I loved by the name of Kazuma Kval, who was built by Relius Clover to be the first vessel for Yuuki Terumi. Try as I might, I could not prevent Terumi from possessing Kazuma, and eventually being sealed away by Clavis Alucard."

"My best friend Konoe A. Mercury, who you may know as Nine of the Six Heroes, ended up breaking Terumi free with Clavis' permission, and forced him to help with the Black Beast using the Mind Eater control spell."

"However, we were all tricked…Not by Terumi, but by Kazuma himself. The two had retained separate identities, and only Terumi was affected by the Mind Eater. When the Dark War had ceased, Kazuma used my own feelings for him to trick me into releasing the Mind Eater on Terumi, and then he surrendered control of his body to Terumi and had both myself and Konoe killed in cold blood…I was only able to survive by putting my soul inside of Muchorin, and later into this body."

"They both tricked you…Nobody blames you for what happened." Shina stated with all her sympathy.

"It doesn't matter if they do or don't. So long as the guilt is mine, I have to do something about it."

"Then you'll help?"

"I would love to, but there is one problem…" Trinity laid a hand where the child's heart is, "I cannot stay in control of this body for very long. If you want my assistance, you'll have to convince Luna and Sena to come with you."

"But Luna's so stubborn and bratty. I don't know how to convince her." Shina said with a dismayed pout. The child cracked a smile as Trinity responded, "I think the answer's simpler than you realize."

Their eyes then closed, opening right back up with the heart-shaped pupils returned. The child's mouth swung open and the two mumbled, "Mwah..wha?"

Shina blinked twice and then, upon thinking on Trinity's words, realized what she had to do with a smile. She bent down and picked up Muchorin, causing Luna to swing her right hand up and shouting accusingly, "H-Hey! Get your slutty hands off that! Mr. Jubei gave that to us!"

Shina volleyed the staff over, and they caught it in both their hands. Looking at it for a few seconds then back up at Shina, they thrust it straight at her in one hand and Luna exclaimed, "Y-Yeah! That's right…You know better than to mess with Luna now!"

Shina bent down in front of the child and decided to give one last hearty try to convince them to come along.

"I know you find it difficult to believe me Luna, but I really could use your help." Shina looked away for a moment to pause and think, "Mr. Jubei could really use your help too!"

"Yeah right, like Luna's gonna believe that!"

"But it's true! Right now, Mr. Jubei's been captured by a wicked, ANGRY young Overlord!" Shina spoke as though reading off a fairy tale, being both fantastical and over-the-top in her tone, "And without your help, who knows what that Overlord will do to him!"

"M-Mr. Jubei…captured?" Sena muttered in shock.

"Sena! She's lying to us! Like Mr. Jubei would EVER get captured!"

"B-But what if he did? He could be getting tortured right this very second, and-"

"EAUGH! No, Luna doesn't want to think about that at all!" Luna spat while holding their tongue through their teeth.

"Guh, FINE! But Luna's only doing this for Mr. Jubei, not you Titzilla! Try anything funny and I'll smack those melons right off your chest! Now come on, time to go bust Mr. Jubei free!" Luna, full of vigor even after all this, sprinted down the alleyway past Shina.

"… _Hooooo…Dealing with children is difficult!"_ After that brief respite, Shina ran after to guide them back to the portal.

 _Back in Yabiko…_

After some hiccups here and there, Alex has managed to make three plates full of the same dish for his eager crowd. He stuck to a simple pork stir fry complete with noodles, soy sauce, carrots, celery and onions. He crossed two fingers behind his back and watched as the judges used their chopsticks to impart a piece of the dish into their mouths.

The wait for them to chew and swallow was impalpable, and though Tao was the first to finish Rachel was the one who was going to speak first. But as the gasp of air left her mouth, signifying the start of her critique, Kokonoe's voice came booming through the intercoms.

" _Hey kid! Muchorin's user has arrived. You might want to get down here!"_

Grimacing tightly, Alex ran towards the door and hastily addressed all the people in the room, "Thanks for the everything Valkenhayn and Hibiki, get this all cleaned up everyone, don't let Shina know, ok later!"

As he left, Noel took another bite of the stir fry and said, "That's too bad…I wanted to tell him his meal was delicious."

"I suppose it's not…terrible," Rachel remarked, taking another bite nice and slow, "however…a good meal is not determined by ingredients alone, but rather the effort that goes into it. And for that reason, this meal is superb."

Alex would never know the praise he had received, as he was in a hurry to get to Kagura's office before Shina could catch even a hint of what had happened. Along the way though, he ended up running into Jubei strolling down an adjacent hall.

"Jubei? What're you doing here?"

"Figured I'd check up on those kids…You know, the ones you decided to recruit."

"Sure. But don't worry, I'm not expecting them to fight."

"Heh, wasn't counting on it. I know who you're really after," Jubei smirked without pause, but as he joined Alex in his walk he closed his eyes and noted, "but she's still in a kid's body. I hope for their sake, you know what you're doing."

The two made it to the office and then the elevator, going down to the basement. However, as the doors opened, a body-sized cat-faced missile was fired right into Alex's face before he could even think. As it blew up, Jubei ducked and glanced back, watching as Alex collapsed onto his rear at the back of the elevator with his head momentarily shaken.

"Ha! Take that you stupid Overlord! Luna's the freakin' best!" The child held Muchorin out while standing on Kokonoe's desk and grinning like a lunatic.

Jubei stood up and stared at the child, cracking a humored grin and saying, "Hey you two, how's it going?"

With a merry gasp, the child leapt off the desk and both personalities proclaimed as they ran to him, "MR. JUBEI!"

The child leaped into Jubei's paws and gave him a hug so hard the cat was almost left suffocated. He pawed them on the head and said, "Now what's this all about? It hasn't been that long you two…"

"Oh Mr. Jubei, L-Luna came to rescue you from that mean, NASTY Overlord the moment Luna heard you were captured!"

"H-Huh?" Jubei looked up and saw Shina sticking her tongue out in a goofy manner, then he looked back down with a humored smile, "Oh, sure…You two did a good job. I'm safe from that nasty Overlord now."

As Jubei kept letting the child hug him for the time being, Alex pulled himself from the ground and rubbed his forehead, grumbling "What the hell…" as he made his way over to Shina.

He looked at her smiling face and her proudly declared, "I brought 'em back! Just like you asked me to!"

"…" Alex stopped rubbing his head and crossed his arms before the chest while closing his eyes, "Yeah, you did a good job. Thanks for the help."

"E-Eh?" Shina blinked twice, but accepted the praise with a blush in her cheeks, "Soooooo, are you gonna explain what's going on to them? I kinda neglected to do so…"

"I'll leave that to Jubei. Right now, I need to prepare myself for the final recruit."

In his mind, he envision a warrior of peerless white standing before him with back turned and hand drawn to the handle of his elongated blade.

" _And compared to everyone so far, he is BY FAR going to be the hardest to convince…"_

 _Next Time: Our War Game_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: A Lonesome Regret**

A few hours after Platinum had joined the rest of the merry band of miscreants in Yabiko, Alex received word from Kokonoe that she had locked onto the last Nox Nyctores user. He thus made his way towards her lab, quite likely for the final time in this world. However, along the way he was intercepted by some unforeseen company in the form of Jubei.

"Jubei?" Alex paused before the cat, his tone revealing a little bit of worry amongst his present confusion. He then left his arms drooping beside his hips and waggled his right hand out at the legendary hero.

"What do you want?" He inquired, sounding a bit more miffed due to being interrupted. The legendary warrior closed his eyes and held his front paws adjacent to his waist, projecting all his wisdom through his demure posture.

"You don't have to hide it. I know you're going after Hakumen next."

"Yeah, I am. And?"

"Look, Hakumen's not exactly the easiest to approach person in the world. Hell, he considers me a friend and even I've had a hard time striking up a conversation with him."

"You worried I'm going to blow it?" Alex remarked with a sulking but blunt glare.

"Not trying to step on anyone's toes 'ere kid," Jubei assured with his warm, kitty-like smile, "but all I'm saying is that, if you want, I'll come along and help you recruit him."

"…Haaaaaaaa," Alex let out a long, reluctant sigh and shook his head like a short swaying pendulum, "I appreciate the offer, but this is something I have to do by myself."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Positive." Alex looked Jubei straight in the eyes, and though he was hunched over slightly his pose brimmed with confidence. The legendary warrior then cracked a grin on the left side of his face.

"Heh, alright. Good luck then." Giving his best wishes, Jubei wandered past Alex, the boy looking over his shoulder until the cat rounded the nearby corner.

"… _What was that all about?"_ He shook his head while turning it back and then tucked his hands into his pockets.

" _Whatever, back to work."_ He continued on uninterrupted until he was down in Kokonoe's lab. The Grimalkin had gotten up from her chair and was waiting for the boy while leaning against the front of her desk.

"You know the drill by now." She opened up with her usual nonchalance, proceeding to stick a fresh lollipop in her mouth while not giving the boy even a moment's notice from her gaze.

"It is Ookami, right?" He asked while walking towards the left corner of the desk.

"Hmph, what do you think?" Her blunt response suggested that she hadn't even bothered to look at the screen for confirmation. Alex didn't even bother to look at the description himself either, as he pulled the Gaia Temporis right out and fixated on the coordinates, focusing them onto the stone to open the necessary portal.

As the rift burst into existence, a sharp pain thrust itself into Alex's head and forced his hand up to grip the side of it. He stuttered an unhinged sounding shiver through gritted teeth as his vision blurred for a moment. The sensation faded but left Alex's eyes looking bloodshot, as though he just awoken from a deep slumber.

"… _Been using this a lot lately. Got to be careful…"_ He tucked the stone back into the pocket and looked over his shoulder, glad that Kokonoe hadn't caught wind of his brief struggle. He then faced the portal and walked through it. On the other side, Alex wound up near the edge of a forest, which sat close to a towering cliffside.

In the center of the cliffside was an elevated, jagged protrusion that allowed one to overlook the luscious valley below. Standing at the very tip of this protrusion, unmoved by all but the silent winter breeze, was the lone warrior himself, Hakumen.

Alex kept his distance and approached the man with absolute silence. He chose to breathe through his nostrils, avoided any fallen branches or leaves, and stopped before the ground began to rise towards the warrior's stationary perch. Staring at his back, the boy saw a bit of himself reflected upon his peerless white armor whenever the wind swayed the man's hair away from it.

Hakumen rested with his body devoid of all tension, but filled with the utmost certainty in what he wanted. However, what he wanted, what drove him to go such great lengths to fight, was a secret that would never leave the sanctity of the armor he was forced to bear.

His peerless resolve and insurmountable confidence made him a difficult man to approach, and with an envious glare towards him Alex's legs stiffened and he could not budge even an inch further. He knew, without a doubt, that he could have prepared months for this moment, and even then that wouldn't have been enough.

Then, from his statuesque state of being, Hakumen's head nudged just an inch upward and he parted his arms from his chest.

"Successor…It is meaningless to mask your presence." His tone was as deep and stoic as Alex remembered, reflecting his nature as a veteran of many battles. The boy froze up across the rest of his body as Hakumen turned himself around. The two looked eye-to-eye, though in Hakumen's case it'd be more like 'eye-to-mask', and kept at it for a good thirty seconds without exchanging a single word to one another.

Alex could sense some degree of disappointment in the way the man projected his glare, an opinion that wasn't the least bit unwarranted considering their last encounter. Once Hakumen had left his feelings burned unto the boy's conscience, he departed from the peaceful cliffside perch and descended until he stood five feet from Alex. Then, he stayed motionless, prepared to address him with solemn intrigue.

"Why are you here?" It was a simple, yet at the same time complex, inquiry. Alex swallowed a nervous gulp of saliva, and chose not to squander time bringing up the past.

"I need your help," It was hard for Alex to lean his head back and look him in the face, "Terumi is still out there, and-"

"I know," Hakumen interrupted, calm and stern, "I heard it all from Valkenhayn."

"O-O-Oh…right, right." Alex stammered, already feeling like an utter fool. He moved his lips wordlessly for a little bit, then tried to look at the warrior as best he could.

"But it's not just Terumi I'm after. I want to deal with all the evils of this world. And I don't think I have to tell you why you're one of the best people suited to help."

"Hrrrrm…" Hakumen hummed in contemplation, while Alex tapped his right foot on the ground at an abnormal pace.

"Yuuki Terumi should not still walk this earth. You've attempted to stop him before, and failed."

"Hey, it's not my fault that he lived!" Alex exclaimed with great insistence, "After you were teleported away, Nu managed to crawl back up and stab me. I didn't get a chance after that, honest!"

"That puppet should have been killed."

"I agree! But that bastard that's following Shina and I around must've saved her at the last second."

"…Is that so? I have reason to believe you are telling the truth." Hakumen was honest in his words, the prior disappointment slowly melting away from his tone.

"Y-Yeah? How come?" Alex, on the other hand, didn't buy into it too much, and demanded to know more.

"Those who wield the Power of Order are able to completely recall their encounters with you, successor. When the time loops were brought to an end, that monster you described tried to control me with a power similar to what had enticed the doll. And, for a second, the visage of that monster appeared before me."

"You saw who they were?!" Alex's interest shot up in an instant, and without concern towards respect he exclaimed, "Tell me! Tell me what you saw Hakumen!"

"…There is little I can offer you. Their appearance was a blur. All I could discern was that their presence was supernatural, much akin to demons described in folklore, and a single color…Violet."

" _A…violet demon carrying a parasol?"_ Alex closed his eyes and tried picturing that, coming up with a goblin with a parasol on top of their head. It was an image too goofy for the likes of this malicious entity. As he opened his eyes though, he watched as Hakumen started to walk away.

"Huh? H-Hey wait a second! Where are you going?!" He declared with hand swung out, but that was a pitiful means of stalling the warrior.

"I will deal with Terumi myself. I do not require your assistance, successor."

"What?! What's the big idea? We worked just fine as a team before, Hakumen. Do you seriously blame ME for what happened with Terumi," Alex swung an open palm against the front of his chest and Hakumen took pause, "It's not MY fault that he got away!"

"…No, perhaps not directly. But you are a fool if you believe that you are faultless." He turned around, his eyes focused all across Alex's body. The stare burned hotter than any flame he could produce, yet was so cold that it left the boy in shivers.

"Do you know why those who wield the Power of Order react to your presence with contempt?"

"…Yeah, I do. Jin's always referred to me as the 'destroyer'." Alex tucked his hands into his pockets and let loose a gravely, annoyed sigh.

"But I haven't destroyed anything!" He swung an arm out from his pocket and gave a tight, frustrated scowl, "And frankly, I'm getting sick and tired of being called something I'm not!"

"…Hrrrrm…" Hakumen hummed his own frustrations out for a little, but then kept his patience up as he spoke, "Ever since you arrived, the world has been flung into greater chaos than before. Your interference with the time loops threatened to drag all involved into a state of unending despair…Your very presence attracted that demon to this world, and in turn they granted power to the Black Beast of the past. Now, Yuuki Terumi is in possession of the very stone that can channel that power, and there is no way of telling what he will do with it."

Hakumen began to reach for the handle of his blade, spreading his legs in a sideways stance directed at Alex as he pulled the blade forth and pointed it right at him, "Regardless of your intentions, you have done nothing but be a herald of chaos. It is my duty to deny that very chaos, no matter how it may manifest itself. Tell me, successor…"

He gripped the blade in both hands and held it over his right shoulder, looking as though he would stab it forward and end the boy in one fell swoop, "Why should I **not** put an end to your very existence?"

Alex stared straight at the blade, which was centered perfectly in his line of sight. At first, his body trembled, but when he looked at it for a little while a rage built up inside his heart until it traveled all the way to his mouth and came out all at once.

"What. THE HELL. Is your problem?!" He flared his eyes open and met Hakumen's blade with a furious glare, "Yeah! So I screwed up multiple times! I've had to come to terms with that enough to fill a hundred lifetimes! But I'm trying to **fix** the mistakes I've made in this world and then some! What the HELL kind of 'herald of chaos' would even CONSIDER let alone TRY and fix what he's done?!"

He then swung his right pointer finger sharply before his chest, flailing his head a little as continued to make a reckless stand against Hakumen's accusations, "So I don't want to hear anything this stupid 'Power of Order' has to say! Either you have the balls to tell me what YOU feel, or you can just shut the hell up Hakumen!"

The warrior did not budge an inch, causing Alex to stamp his foot on the ground so hard it broke off a chunk of rock from the protrusion nearby, "And even if you yourself tell me what I did was wrong, I don't care! For her, I'd do the same thing a hundred times over!"

Alex hung his head until the chin pressed against his chest, his face left panting and sweating as Hakumen still showed no signs of moving. Then, the warrior lowered his blade to the hip for a moment so he could sheath it properly. Once it was locked into place, he remarked, "So, that is the truth."

"W-Wha?" The boy raised his head with the utmost confusion on it.

"That girl…The one thing in this entire universe that you cherish the most. She…is your guiding light."

"W-Well, yeah…I-I guess you could say that." Alex closed his eyes and spit the words out in a muddled manner, then looked up at Hakumen and swung his arms out.

"Hakumen, I don't know what you're expecting me to do. I-I get that that demon is causing trouble because of my presence, but it's not like we can turn tail and go home! Hell, there won't BE a home for Shina to return to if we fail! So long as that monster wants to fight their personal war against me, I WILL stand and fight to stop everything they do! Besides…It's my duty as an Elemental Overlord."

"…Hmph, you do not get to drag other people to fight **your** war, successor." Hakumen stated, not to be rude, but to impart some of his worldly wisdom to his perplexed company.

"If I was expecting everyone to fight that monster, that'd be one thing…But I'm not. I-It's like I told you, I just want to get rid of all the evil in this world. So don't fight for my war, Hakumen, let me help **you** put an end to yours."

"…" Hakumen paused in silence and then turned his back to the boy, staring towards the setting sun in the east.

"Tell me, successor…When you drew your blade for the first time to take upon the reigns and duties of your given title…Did you ever consider for even a moment the gravity of your own decision?"

"Why are you asking me this now?" Alex inquired, now completely lost in the conversation.

"…Long ago, there was a man who had aspirations of being a hero. He worked hard, rising through the ranks of his organization, hoping one day he'd be able to make a difference. But he was not alone. Always at his side was his secretary, who he loved very much, as did she love him. They were inseparable…"

"But one day, the would-be hero caught wind of a monster attacking a city, and sought to take care of him on his own. The one he loved followed, worried for his safety. However, though her bravery was admirable, those feelings were unable to reach the man she loved. He had become consumed by madness and obsession, turning into a wretched example of the flaws of humanity. To pursue his goals, he hurt the one he loved both emotionally and physically, and delved deeper into Hell."

"There awaited not just one, but two monsters, who dueled to the bitter death for supremacy. The first monster roared like a raging beast, the second one limbering to-and-fro like a stringless marionette. The man wished them both dead, feeling as though he would truly be recognized as a hero if he did so."

"Even after all that had happened, the girl followed the one she loved into Hell…And paid the ultimate price. The doll, devoid of humanity, saw the girl as nothing more than an obstacle towards her obsession, and pierced her as such. The sight of such a cruel, meaningless demise snapped the man from his madness, and he tried to bring her back from the brink of death. However, her body had been cursed by the doll, and she soon slipped out of his reach forever…"

"The man, at that point, saw the futility of his obsession. Being praised as a hero meant nothing if the most important person in his life, the one who helped him reach that point, would no longer be there. Broken, exhausted…the man still tried as he might to kill the monsters before him, diving even further into Hell. He continued to fall, even when there was nowhere else to go, until a force beyond his comprehension pulled him out, laying his tattered body out across a moonlit plain. There, he was approached by a princess of vulgar refinement, who asked him but one thing…"

" _How would you like to become a hero?"_ Alex could imagine Rachel's voice saying that.

"…It was a fate worse than any Hell, a tasteless mockery of the man who had already lost everything. Yet, the man did not feel ridiculed. He felt nothing, even his whole body had grown numb. What drove him was an unconscious fear, one that exists in the hearts of all humans…Though it would absolve him of all the pain, the man refused to die, and accepted the princess' offer."

"The man was placed in a suit of armor for his own protection, and his energy was slowly renewed. However, as his body was healed, so too was the mind. The mind remembered what it had lost, and born from those memories was a putrid, festering hatred. The hatred consumed the body, devouring flesh and bone until all that remained was the soul and mind. On that day, the man died…Ironically, so a hero could be born."

"And soon, the hero would get a chance to face the devil that had emerged from Hell, and along with five other warriors he would fulfill the wish of the long since deceased man…Becoming a hero recognized by history forevermore. Yet, the hero would find that he so long as he was alive, the war he chose to fight would never end."

Hakumen laid a hand on the handle of his blade and pulled it out, resting it across his palms and looking down on it with faint nostalgia and regret present around his body. Alex's chest tightened from hearing that story in full, and he was beginning to understand why he had to hear it from this warrior.

"When you take up a sword to fight for justice…It is a war that has no end until the day you die. You will fight battle after battle, and have nothing to show for it but your own personal 'satisfaction'." Hakumen then sheathed the blade and glanced at the boy over his shoulder.

"So I ask you again…Did you consider these consequences when you first took up the mantle of Elemental Overlord?"

"Y-Yes?" Alex stammered, then buckled down on the hesitation by gritting his teeth and lowering his head in shame, "N-No…No, I didn't." He raised his right hand up and summoned his sword, holding it level before his chest.

"When I took up this blade…Sure, I wanted to protect other people. But deep down, I also wanted and still do want vengeance against a man who wronged me. My reasons for becoming a hero, much like yo-…t-the man in that story's, were selfish. Yet I stuck to my guns, thinking I could make a difference in these worlds as an Elemental Overlord."

"But…there was no way a child like me could've possibly fathomed how encompassing the duty of one with that power would be. There's hundreds of worlds out there in need of help, dozens of which I've never even been to before, and in turn billions and billions lives weighing on my shoulders. And it didn't help that, starting off, the threats I had to deal with were causing trouble BECAUSE I existed."

"Thanks to that and other reasons, I-I got scared and tried to run away from my sworn duty. If it wasn't for her, for Shina, then I would have forever remained a coward. But it's because of her that I've given being an Elemental Overlord a second chance. For once, it was a problem to solve that didn't exist because I do…"

Dispelling the sword in a puff of fire, Alex stared straight into his gloved palm and said, "I've failed enough already. I'm **not** going to fail her."

He clenched the glove into a fist and held it at his hip, wondering what Hakumen could possibly be thinking at that moment. The warrior didn't show any indication that he was looking his way, and he stayed as still as he always does.

"…The burden never lessens, it only grows with time. However, you have found a reason to fight, no matter how big that burden may grow." He turned around and faced Alex with all his attention, having one last pressing question to ask him.

"Tell me, successor, have you told the girl anything about you truly feel?"

"I-I don't think I could bring myself to do that. It's like you said…I can't have other people fighting my own war."

"Do not misinterpret what I said. Dragging in others to fight a war based on revenge is wrong…But to cage your emotions and refuse to let anyone help fight the pain and suffering…That is just as wrong."

Alex just stared at the man with a blank, unflinching look of realization that he was right. Hakumen then continued after giving him a chance to let that realization sink into his entire being.

"I had met her in battle…I could feel the strength of her heart in the blade she wielded. Do not be a fool, successor, and let what you have become nothing more than a fleeting dream."

"Heh, you make it sound so easy…And it really should be. Just three words, 'I love you', and maybe that'd be enough to make me happy. But how can I place that burden upon her, knowing that any second my existence could put her life in danger?"

"That is always the risk we take by heeding the call of battle…But so long as you do not succumb to obsession, then maybe you can do what that man could not, and recognize the unbreakable bond of love you share with that brave young girl."

Hakumen swerved away from the boy and looked towards the portal he had summoned, remarking in an honest manner, "If you vow to me that you will admit everything to that girl, then I will assist you in stopping the evils that plague this world. If you don't have the courage, however, then I see no reason for our paths to cross again, successor."

"Then I will! I will tell her how I feel!" Alex declared, causing Hakumen to shift his head to the left and appear to be at least a little impressed as he stared into the boy's eyes.

"No hesitation…" He murmured, then looked back at the portal, "Very well. Then for this one time, my blade shall be yours, Elemental Overlord." The boy widened his eyes and couldn't believe what he heard, even as Hakumen began to make his way for the portal.

Even he knew not to ruin this with a questioning 'Really?" and kept his mouth shut, instead giving a short nod of the head and keeping up with the man from behind. Hakumen entered the portal, and Alex was about to do the same when all of a sudden someone ran in front of him and stopped right in place. The boy rammed his head into the person's chest and took a couple steps back, but the person apologized right after.

"Oh I'm dreadfully sorry, but it seems I wasn't watching where I was going!" Their voice was that of a male's, with perhaps a little too much flamboyancy to it.

Alex looked up and stared the man head on with an annoyed glare. The man had violet hair tied in a bun via a golden hairpin, and with dark pink eye shadow over his blue eyes and red lipstick he looked quite androgynous. That outlook wasn't helped by his choice of clothes, consisting of a flowing pink and red kimono, sleeveless black skintight turtleneck, black shorts and legwarmers, red platform sandals, and the strange translucent pink scarf that hovered around his body through otherworldly means.

"Hmhmhm…My mind simply tends to wander whenever I stroll through such splendid scenery." The man closed his eyes and projected an innocent smile. However, the circumstances were too bizarre for his presence to be a coincidence, and Alex wasn't buying it for a second. He quickly whipped a hand into his right pocket and touched the Gaia Temporis to freeze time for them both.

The man peered his eyelids open a little and looked allured by his own intrigued, "Fascinating…So you're gifting me with a presentation of this power first-hand, hmmm?"

"What do you want, Amane Nishiki?" Alex asked right off the bat, to which the man gave an earnest giggle before he averted his gaze from the boy.

"I'd be flattered that you know my name…If I were to ever get rid of this strange curling sensation in my stomach, that is."

Alex glared at him unenthused with Amane's attempt to play around, but that did nothing to make him quit projecting that type of demeanor. After giggling a little more at the annoyance Alex projected, he held a hand out from his chest in a casual manner and decided to have an actual conversation.

"Truth be told, I **was** hoping to find some inspiration for a new dance. And as it just so happened, I caught wind of a new play coming out soon. It looked rather interesting really…An all-star cast, a classic premise…" Amane peered into Alex's pupils, keeping his demeanor the same even though his gaze was a piercing one.

"Though…The director's credentials do seem a bit spotty, to say the least."

Alex drew his sword right into Amane's face, causing him to swing his arms up while keeping a playful smile present.

"Are you here to stop me? Cause I already know you can try if you wanted to."

"Hohoho, not at ALL my dear…" Amane stood still and flapped his fingers down, faking timidity by forcing a sweat drop through his forehead.

"T-Though I can't say I'm fond of having such a big sword being so recklessly swung before my face. So if you'd put it down, I'd be most appreciative."

The boy raised his brows a little and then stayed his hand, sensing not even a tinge of aggression from the man, which only raised further questions as to why he was even here. After breathing a gentle sigh, Amane closed his eyes and projected an aloof demeanor while shaking his head a little bit.

"Honestly, not a very good first impression you're giving me. I am simply here to be your captive audience, director. Unless you're allergic to words and questions, I will be no more harmful than a glistening snowflake."

Alex's eyes flattened into an entirely uncaring slump of a stare before he grumbled, "Soooo…are you going to let me go now, or…?"

"That depends entirely on you, my dear." Amane then flicked his wrist out and a paper fan flew forth from the sleeve. He unfurled it before his face to hide his smile, making his glare take on a more serious disposition.

"The actors are in position, the stage is set, but can you say for certain you are satisfied with the script?" Amane closed his eyes, and his scarf flowed around his body while spreading 'petals' from it's form.

"Many good plays can easily be soured by the arrogance of their director. Whether it's the failure to acknowledge a mistake in their plot's direction, or failing to give the actors proper instruction…It is far easier than one would think to devoid such spectacle of it's majesty."

"Though, regardless of whether you're satisfied or not, I shall not stand in your way. I am merely praying that this play doesn't devolve into an unforeseen tragedy." Amane then opened his eyes, finding Alex's glare not even the least bit changed. The boy sighed and looked the man straight forward.

"You're telling me if I want to back off, is that it? Well look, I didn't back off when asked to become an Elemental Overlord. I didn't back off when Shina wanted me to help save her people. And guess what? I'm not going to back off now. I'm certain that what I'm doing is right."

Alex pointed a thumb up the front of his chest, raising his head up high and declaring to Amane without any hesitation, "I'm the one and only director in my life, and that's never going to change!"

"Hmhmhm…Is that so?" Amane had little else to say, and after folding his fan up he slipped it down into his sleeve and waved the hand out.

"Well! Perhaps I'll see you see when the production is over! Ta-ta for now, my dear!" Amane scampered off like a maiden bounding through a flowery field. Alex saw him off with a stinging glare, then raised his brothers and used the Gaia Temporis to resume time.

" _What a weirdo…"_ He thought as he headed into the portal.

Back in Kokonoe's lab, Hakumen was already past the desk and facing the Grimalkin leaning against it.

"Grimalkin…"

"Wow, he actually managed to convince a sorry sack of shit like you?" Kokonoe murmured with little surprise in her voice.

"Hmph…" Hakumen turned away from her and went towards the elevator. Alex followed, for the sake of explaining his presence to Kagura. However, when the two ended up in the office, they found Ragna confronting the Colonel with an impatient scowl on his face. When he heard the elevator, Ragna faced it to give Alex a piece of his mind.

"Hey idiot, mind telling us-"

But the sight of Hakumen turned Ragna's impatience to rage and he wasted no time in drawing his sword out and pointing it at the warrior.

"Are you kidding me?! First Jin, now this asshole?! Is this some sick joke, or have you secretly been planning on killin' me, huh?!"

"Lower your blade, Dark One. We shall settle our intertwining fates after Yuuki Terumi has been slain."

"Ha! You expect me to believe that shit?!"

"Ragna, stand down, NOW!" Alex exclaimed with great ferocity, then calmed down just a bit to detail to him, "Everyone's been recruited now. I'm glad you're ready to go after Terumi, but you'll have to wait at least a couple more days for us to make preparations."

"Wait, shit, seriously? The masked bitch's the last one?"

"Yes." Alex was simple and nonchalant, and that was enough to still Ragna's blade and get him to sheathe it. He still refused to look Hakumen in the eyes with anything less than his utmost hatred, but would not say a word towards him. Satisfied with the argument defused for now, Alex smiled.

"Now then, before that…I think it's time we have a feast." The boy strolled his way past Ragna and Kagura, the Grim Reaper closing his eyes and mumbling, "A feast? Yeah, that doesn't sound too ba-"

When he realized just WHO suggested that idea, he swung around and exclaimed, "Wait what the HELL?! A feast…from YOU?!" Alex was out the door before he could receive an answer though.

"…Why do I have a really bad feeling about this?"

 _Next Time: Last Preparations_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Last Supper**

It had been calm and dark inside of the cafeteria since Alex used it earlier, undisturbed even by the few specks of dust left inside of it. If anyone wished to use the facility for some peace and quiet, it would have been a good idea… _Until now._

The doors were thrown open by a lazy kick from the heel of Alex's shoe, bringing the halls lights flushing inward, and covering him and his two comrades in culinary confections in shadows. They were like cowboys making their presence known in a saloon, draped in an alluring, secretive shade. Once the man on the left flicked the lights on with a snap of the fingers, he drew his pure white glove towards his ruffled tie and gave it a quick adjust.

"Shall we?" He dared the approaching challenge with a show of his elderly confidence, grinning from cheek to cheek. Alex looked to Valkenhayn and nodded his head, then looked to his right and saw Hibiki standing beside him.

"I have never been more prepared. This feast shall be even more legendary than the Six Heroes themselves."

"Haha!" Valkenhayn guffawed with a wider, gleeful grin, "Such splendid enthusiasm! But your meals better match that bluster, young Master."

"I…appreciate your 'ready-to-go' attitude guys, but lets not destroy the kitchen trying to outdo each other, alright?" Alex remarked, drawing a hand slowly from his pocket as his brain flared with cautious warnings.

"Are you sure you're ready, Alex?" Hibiki inquired.

"Probably not," Alex tilted his head and acted rather humble, "But we can't worry about that now, can we? Come on, lets get this started."

His two compatriots nodding in agreement, Alex followed them into the kitchen ready to work. Before they were ready to craft the enticing ensemble of eats, preparations had to be made. Alex started off by carrying a bunch of different wrapped up meats, then looked at the others.

"Ok, I got the meats. Who has the veggies?"

"All here, sorted alphabetically." Hibiki responded at the other counter. Meanwhile, Alex pulled out two latex gloves and placed them over his hands, having a little difficulty putting it over the other glove.

"Nnnghh…! How about gloves?"

"Why, I never leave home without them." Valkenhayn spoke, tugging and snapping the cuff of his right glove into place.

"Knives?" Alex only had to look back to see Hibiki twirl one around in each hand, making them spin as fast as pinwheels on a blustery day.

"Alright, those are the essentials." Alex closed his eyes and stretched his arms out before his face, intertwining his fingers and pushing them out until the bones in his knuckles and elbows cracked.

"Lets _do_ this." He boasted, sounding as prepared as he could possibly be.

As him and the other two got to work, turning the kitchen into a battlefield with the food they prepared the unfortunate causalities of war, Kagura walked inside and leaned up beside the door frame. He watched with a blank-eyed glance and prayed that his facilities would survive.

"Hey, Alex." He tried to get the boy's attention, and though he did not turn his head he did acknowledge his presence regardless.

"What do you need Kagura?"

"Uhh, is there anything I can do to help?"

"Actually, there is! Let everyone know dinner will be ready in a couple hours, and to assemble in the cafeteria." Alex kept focused on meal preparation without breaking his stride.

"Everyone? Even Hakumen?" The Colonel wondered with blanketed confusion.

"Yeah, duh."

"Can he even **eat**?" That was enough to make Alex pause for a moment and blink a few times, trying to imagine Hakumen eating. The sight of his mask producing large, glistening square teeth left him shivering.

"I-I don't want to know," When he was done squirming, he went back to work and then answered, "But that doesn't matter. I'm going to announce what's going to happen with the plan tonight, so he needs to be there."

"Seriously? Alright, then I'll make it my top priority." Kagura winked and then turned around, his cape concealing his departure. When he was gone, Alex shifted his head towards Hibiki as he was dicing vegetables.

"Hey Hibiki, can I get your assistance with something?"

"What do you need?"

"You're Japanese, right?"

"Why yes, I am." Hibiki responded with pride.

"Great. There's this certain stir-fry I want to make, and I figured you'd know the best way to prepare it. You see…" Alex closed his eyes, ending up hesitant to explain why he wanted to do this. Eventually the words would come out, and the dish he wanted would be made along with all the rest in due time.

 _Two hours later…_

Thanks to Kagura's ability to be reliable when it counts, everyone started assembling in the cafeteria around the indicated time. Even Kokonoe and Tager had made their way up. Ragna roughed his way to the front of the group, his stomach growling more than a rowdy tiger.

"Finally! I've been starving for hours!" He proclaimed with great impatience. Luckily for him, his desires would soon be fulfilled, as before everyone's gaze was an unfathomable amount of food across at least four long tables. There were plates, utensils and cups for everyone who would eat, and the variety of dishes to choose from could not be described by mortal words alone. Presenting the food, their bodies clean as a whistle, was Valkenhayn and Hibiki. The butler took a gentle bow before his guests.

"Dinner…is served." At his declaration, the rowdier folk like Ragna, Tao and Platinum dashed for the tables like starving cheetahs, trying to push each other out of the way to get to the food first. With them yelling at each other to get out of the way, Valkenhayn's brows swiftly furrowed as he raised his head and tried his best to ignore the rabble. He looked at Rachel and held his hand out, guiding her along to a seat of his choosing, which was decorated with roses and a gothic coloring.

When everyone was in place, from top to bottom on each side they were positioned like this…

Left Side: Rachel, Valkenhayn, Platinum, Jubei, Ragna, Tager, Kokonoe

Right Side: Kagura, Makoto, Shina, Noel, Jin, Tao, Hibiki

After the others were seated, Hakumen came inside, pausing to look at everyone for just a moment before spending his time leaning against the wall beside the door with his arms crossed.

As she sat down Shina noticed that, out of all the plates, hers was already filled with food. Around the edge of the dish were a few stir-fried vegetables, and in the center of the dish was a bunch of pieces of stir-fried chicken covered in a red sweet-and-sour sauce. Thanks to a particular enclosure of rice between the chicken and veggies, the chicken was shaped like a heart.

"Huh?" Shina blinked until the strong scent of the food penetrated the nostrils, overwhelming her brain with sensations of warmth and nostalgia. She clasped her hands together and drool dripped forth from the sides of her mouth.

"OHMIGOSH! It's just like the food mom got for us back home! Only betterer!" Shina couldn't wait, the sensations were too much for her eager soul. She plucked the fork from the sanctity of the nearby napkin and started to dig in. She mashed a serving of the chicken, rice and veggies down into mush, swallowing it all it once even though it was bigger than the circumference of her throat.

Her face turned red and the temperature in her body rose, and with a hefty sigh steam was pushed forth from her mouth. However, the intense spiciness could not defeat her happiness.

"This is soooooo good! I gotta know who made this!"

"Oh my god, seriously?" Makoto murmured with her eyes and mouth drooped in utter disbelief, "Ain't it obvious Shina?"

"Eh? Whatcha mean by that Makoto?" Shina looked at her, the blank gaze in her eyes giving away that she was serious. The beastkin glared back with the utmost pity she could offer.

"Ya really worry me sometimes…"

"Oh yeah, where's Alex?" Shina gazed around the room to search for the boy, and Makoto followed up earlier concerns with a deep sigh.

"Really…REALLY worry about ya…"

On the other side of the table, Jubei was taking his time nibbling on his food one piece at a time, while Platinum was devouring through the foods like some sort of living blender. The child took a break to present a piece of meat to Jubei.

"Mr. Jubei, you gotta try this! It's amazing!" Luna proclaimed eagerly. Jubei looked at them and chuckled with a tiny smile.

"Heh, you're too kind Luna." He stopped taking a bite from the food on his fork to chomp down on Platinum's meat. Watching this scene, Ragna raised his brows and murmured 'Seriously?' as though struggling to accept Jubei's praise towards the two.

Going back to his meal, Ragna plucked a hot steamy shrimp up with his chopsticks and held it over his left arm.

"Hey Master, have you tried any of this shrimp yet? It's waaaay better than that crap you had me fish out in the wilderness."

"Now now, that built character Ragna."

"Character?! It was like I was eating wet fish crap!" Ragna proclaimed, getting a jolly laugh out of Jubei before he took a bite of the shrimp. Platinum, specifically the Luna side, gave jealous glares towards Ragna and did little to subdue her growls. Thus, the child plucked another piece of meat from their plate and rubbed it gently against the side of Jubei's mouth.

"T-This piece is even better Mr. Jubei! Come on! Try it!" Her forcefulness was receptive with Jubei, who turned his head and chuckled with a little nervousness.

"Alright, sure." He said before eating. Ragna closed his right eye and glared at Platinum with the full intensity of his other. Gritting his teeth into a scowl, Ragna swung his chopsticks at another piece of shrimp and pressed it against Jubei's face.

"Hey, Master, have another one. You _deserve_ it!" He spoke with forceful pleasantry, causing Platinum's cheeks to puff out like tiny balloons with her irises grew to fill the eyes.

"Hrrrrrrmmmphh!" Platinum watched with great fury as Jubei accepted the shrimp from Ragna again, and without restraint Luna swung her fork up above her head and exclaimed, "Stop feeding Mr. Jubei you worthless old pervert!"

Ragna pressed the chopsticks between his clenched fingers and punched the side of the table while glaring straight at Platinum, "Oh, here we go! The stupid brat's trying to talk shit again! So **what** if I'm feeding him?!"

"You'll infect him with your pervertedness, that's what's wrong, shithead!"

"Perversion isn't a goddamn disease! What the hell kinda shit have you been reading?!"

"Much more than you have, stuuuuuuupid! Luna's waaaaaay smarter than your sorry ass, bleeeeeh!" Platinum pulled down the bottom of their right eye and stuck their tongue. Ragna lost his patience and swung his chopsticks at the child as though it was his sword.

"Says the dumbass brat trying to pick a fight with me! I'd spank your ass five ways across this room right now!"

"Bring it on bitch! Luna'll kick your ass so hard, your new name will be Ragna the Butthurt!"

Jubei sat still, staring naught at either party while his eyes were partway shut and his expression boiled down to him struggling with the question of "Should I get involved or not?" With a deep sigh, he shrugged and went back to eating.

As Ragna was busy exchanging insults with Platinum, a fork stabbed forth from across the other side of the table and snagged two pieces of shrimp from his plate. He caught that from the corner of his eye and swung his head, directing his endless rage towards the one responsible.

"Tao! Get your own damn shrimp!" The Grim Reaper watched as part of his meal was lost forever to the ravenous maws of the catgirl, who swallowed it down a mere second after chomping it. When she was done, any stray sauce was cleansed with a circular lick, and she grinned across the width of her face.

"Any food is Tao's food! Even yours, good guy!" She tried to go for another piece, but Ragna blocked it with his chopsticks. With great agility, Tao's paw slipped around to try and evade, but Ragna was able to meet every attempt with growing frustration,

"Cut it out Tao!"

"Nyahever, good guy! Tao shall prevail!" The two's boiled battle kept at it, while Luna was planning to get back at Ragna in secret. Watching the scene unfold while slowly eating his food, Jin then closed his eyes and let out a dull 'Hmph'.

Before he took another bite of his meal, Jin was offered some fried string beans and pork on a fork by Noel. She tried to smile and her hand was shaky, but her tone blossomed with her usual friendliness.

"M-Major…You should try this. I-It's good for your health and…" She stopped as Jin swerved his gaze just a little to the right, swallowing a tense gulp of saliva, "I-I know you…weren't eating much and-"

"Who gave **you** permission to care about my well-being, trash?"

Cold as always, Jin looked back at his plate, while Noel's eyes began trembling as though ready to cry, "W-Why do you have to say such things Major?"

"Hmph, as though I would waste my breath telling you."

As he raised his fork to his mouth, he was suddenly assailed by a hot dumpling to the side of his face. The dough broke and saucy meat trickled down his cheek. For a second, Jin did not want to acknowledge this event. It was so beneath him that it registered less than a fly in his mind. Then another dumpling impacted below the first, forcing him to bother swerving his gaze to the right.

With puckered lips and an innocuous, country-style whistle, Makoto hid a spoon behind her back and averted her gaze. Jin pressed his thumb against the front of his fork and made it bend a little forward. Yet, despite earlier treatment, Noel put a napkin to Jin's face and started wiping the stuff off.

"I-I'm sorry Major…You know how rowdy Makoto can get." Noel applied a gentle touch to each sweep, all the while Jin stayed quiet and didn't budge an inch.

Off behind the cover of the wall separating kitchen and cafeteria, Alex peeked around the door and saw everyone having a good time. Focusing on Shina as she ate from the plate he made, his heart was heavy upon realizing she didn't catch the message he had sent through it. With his jaw slacking from how long his sigh was, the boy pulled back and laid a hand on his chest, where the heart was thumping like a thunderous drum.

" _Alright…I-I can do this."_ He performed a few quick motivational exercises in his head and then pumped his fists out before his armpits. Then, he made his way out into the cafeteria, his appearance turning most people's attention at them.

He was responsive to all their gazes in a negative manner, his body becoming riddled in miniscule goosebumps and shivers. No single gaze was worse than Rachel's, which portrayed neither anticipation nor looming dismay as the boy made his way to the head of the tables. He held a fist before his chest and bumped it twice, letting out a dry but loud enough cough to grab everyone else's attention.

When all eyes were front and center on him, he experienced something that he never had before….The pure, crippling sensation of stage fright. Time seemed to slow down on it's own, a cold sweat forming from the tips of his brows, and his gaze unable to focus on one location.

" _I-I've…never cared much for speeches. The thought of having to stand up in front of dozens of people to motivate them just seemed like such an impossible task."_ His gaze ended up landing on Shina, who smiled at him and waited with antsy anticipation present across the rest of her face.

"… _But they need to believe that my plan is worth listening to. They need to be motivated to fight with everything they've got. So whether I like it or not,_ _ **I**_ _have to give this speech."_

He closed his eyes and took in one more breath, closing his eyes to help with the stress his audience's gaze brought.

"…Thank you all for coming. I know it's probably been hard for some of you to share the same building with certain others, but I can't thank you all enough for sticking through it until now." Getting his first wind, Alex opened his eyes up in a millisecond and stared upon the group with more natural confidence.

"Most of you don't know what I am…I imagine even less of you know what my name is. My name is Alex Whiter…and I'm the Elemental Overlord, the guardian of justice, and slayer of all who would oppose that justice." He leaned forward and placed both hands down on the edge of the table.

"I'm not going to bore you all with my life story, or what brought me to this world in the first place…You all know why we're here, don't you? One man, or rather a devil wearing one's skin, has been a thorn in all of our sides for god knows how long. Some of you have only dealt with his atrocities recently, others have had their entire lives ruined by him, and a few of you still fight against his malice even after a century has passed…"

"But I'm here to tell you…I will NOT let him have another day. No more of his deception, no more of his despair, and no more of his tyranny! This is YOUR world, not his damn it, and if he's got a problem with that well…" He caught his breath and stood up, stretching his arms out to the crowd, "Maybe he shouldn't have pissed all of you off. Cause now? Now we're united under a common cause, to tear apart his kingdom of chaos and restore order to this world!"

No one said anything, yet that was as much a good thing as it was a bad one. Alex lifted his head back and then let out a sigh.

"I-I'm not a leader…Hell I'm…barely even a soldier really. But please, just this once, give me a chance to lead you all into battle, and I **promise** you that we **WILL** win."

Giving the group a chance to register his boast, Alex then placed his arms against his chest and closed his eyes.

"Now…you probably haven't noticed this yet, and you WON'T-" He opened one eye to paralyze Platinum, who was about to smash her plate over Ragna's head, with a piercing glare before growling at her _"-LUUUUNA!"_

After the child lowered the plate and shivered, Alex coughed and continued, "…But there's a number and a time under your plates. Each number represents the group you are assigned to as part of this plan, and the time represents when you shall meet with me tomorrow in Kagura's office to discuss said plan. You're welcome to discuss the numbers with each other to determine your groups, but there will be no meeting with me to change which group you're in."

Everyone started looking under their plates, while Hakumen pulled his hand away from his chest and saw the number five printed on his palm in silver ink. He knew for a fact that said number wasn't there a while ago, but said nothing. As the others looked under their plates, Tager and Tao stared in confusion, while Rachel didn't even bother to lift hers as she knew the result. Murmurs filled the cafeteria was people were already starting to piece together what groups they'd be put in.

Alex observed things for a little bit, then sighed and made his way for the door out of the cafeteria. As he rounded the corner of the table, he heard a clap starting from the other side. Flinching, he glanced past his left shoulder and saw Shina slowly clapping, her smile as radiant as always.

"That was a great speech Alex!" She proclaimed, giving a lofty but well-meaning tilt of the head as her smile grew bigger. The boy blushed and turned away, his heart set aflutter.

"T-Thanks…" He whispered before continuing his walk out of the cafeteria, leaving the rest to their own devices while he would spend his sleepless night preparing for the final battle with Terumi's forces…

 _Late into the evening…_

Kokonoe found herself on a balcony overlooking the starry night sky, which was lit up by a crescent waning moon. She scratched the side of her head and grumbled with irritation known only to herself. Her alone time was disrupted by hefty footsteps coming from behind, belonging to her compatriot Tager.

"Ah, there you are Kokonoe." He walked out onto the balcony as she turned around, looking at him from the corner of her eye.

"Tager? What's up?"

"W-Was I disturbing you?" Tager inquired with caution, but the Grimalkin just shook her head and tilted her lollipop out beside her face.

"It's nothing, continue."

"…Anyways, I wanted to discuss the matter of the Overlord's sorting process tonight."

"You mean the fact he didn't put a number on your plate?" She pushed the center of her glasses up with her left pointer finger, "I'm not inclined to listen what that idiot has to say but…If my calculations are correct, it's probably for the best if you don't fight anyways Tager. Though, that's not to say I won't keep you on standby, just to be safe."

"Calculations? You mean you've already determined what the boy is planning?" Tager said, even now being amazed at Kokonoe's brilliance.

"Yeah, I have. And I bet you have too."

"Uhhhh, I'm sorry to say I haven't." Tager replied with great confusion.

"Grrr, not you Tager." Kokonoe squinted her eyes with a fanged scowl and Tager turned his body to the side, only having to look just a little right to find Jubei standing on the edge of the outcrop.

"…Oh," The Red Devil stood still for a couple seconds and then forcefully coughed, "Riiight. I'll just…let you two be."

As Tager left the balcony, Kokonoe turned and faced the sky once more. Jubei took a couple steps forward, cautious and silent as the rest of his species were, and then tried to start a conversation in a gruff but welcoming voice.

"Kokonoe, do you mind if we talked for a bit?"

"Hrmmph…Not like you're going to leave if I say no right? Even though leaving is the one thing you're good at…" Kokonoe replied with subdued disdain, to which Jubei closed his eyes and mustered up a regretting sigh. With the air thick with a tension that even Jubei's blades would not be able to cut, he could only bring himself to move forward with what was on his mind.

"I already pieced together what was on your plate…You and I are going to be working together, aren't we?"

Kokonoe's right hand tensed up and applied pressure to the stick of her lollipop as she pulled it out of her mouth to grumble, "I told that son of a bitch not to play therapist and there he goes pulling this shit!"

"Kokonoe, I know you're upset…And I've earned every bit of your hatred, to be frank," Jubei admitted without a hint of hesitation, then once more tried to approach his daughter, "But we both know what the kid's going to have us do. Whether we like it or not, we're the best options when it comes to saving her, even if it means letting her die again…"

Jubei raised a steady paw to Kokonoe's back, but she spun around and slapped it away with all her force. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot, filled with a fury that would dwarf even the Black Beast itself. She focused it all onto Jubei, screaming into his ears, "What the HELL is your problem you stupid bastard?!"

Bearing her fangs down into a proper scowl, her body trembled, barely able to contain her indignation before her own father.

"'Her'? She has a NAME goddamn it! It doesn't matter if it's Konoe or Nine, she's still your wife…and MY mother! And yet you're treating her like she's some sort of…abomination!" All her heart gushed forth into every word she spewed, and Jubei listened to them all without batting an eye or losing ground. He waited until Kokonoe was done to think and formulate a response, and offered it to her with calm regret.

"I…I understand what you're saying. Don't think I've forgotten the precious years I spent with your mother…" He was honest to the bone, something Kokonoe still could not believe, "But that thing…That Phantom, is not the woman I loved….Not anymore. It's a twisted amalgamation of your mother's soul and Relius' puppetry. For the sake of honoring her memory and the sacrifices she made to protect those she loved, we have to put her down. The question is though Kokonoe…do you have it in you to say goodbye to her again?"

"' _Again'_?" Kokonoe murmured, the tension in her grip tightening to the point of snapping her lollipop in two, "Like I ever even got a chance to say goodbye the first time. One day I just woke up, and mom was dead and you had run off to do god knows what…"

"Not like I could stay out in the open once the NOL was formed…They put me on their most wanted list out of fear of what I could do." Jubei rationalized, but Kokonoe simply bit her teeth down into a scowl.

"If you had just come to me I would've kept you hidden from those bastards!"

"And then what? I spend most of my days cooped up like a kitty in a kennel? At least on the outside I could make a difference, however little it might end up being."

"That's **bullshit** and you know it! Why can't you tell me the real reason why you avoided me?! After all these years, you owe me that much!"

"…N-No, you're right. I do." Jubei replied with lessening hesitation. He looked his daughter straight-on and raised a paw towards his eye patch.

"Lost a lot a people I've cared for throughout my life…Your mother, my brothers Tomonori and Munefuyu, Trinity and Celica…Hell, I damn nearly thought Hakumen was gone forever too. Point is, people around me tend to get caught up in a heap of trouble and die. Don't reckon I'm cursed or nuthin', but when death surrounds you wherever you go you tend to build up a mentality of avoiding others…Even those you care for."

"…I never knew that." Kokonoe murmured with a more docile look on her face.

"Knew what?" Jubei inquired.

"That I had uncles," She lifted her head a bit and gazed towards the rooftops, "Mother died and you ran off when I was pretty young…Most of the stuff I had to learn about you both was through history books. But that only tells me what you did, not what type of person the two of you were…"

"Hrrrmmm…" Jubei closed his eyes and thought for a moment, "It's not like it's too late Kokonoe."

"W-What?" She was left looking on in utter disbelief.

"I may be old, but I reckon I still got plenty of years left in me. So do you. If you'd be willing to let me, I'd be more than happy to make up for lost time however you wish."

"…" Kokonoe closed her eyes and mumbled, "I'll…think about it. Right now, there's too much on my mind."

"Alright, sure. I'll leave you be. See you in the morning, Kokonoe." Jubei left the scene in peace, and Kokonoe scratched the side of her head while turning back around to face the stars. With a hefty sigh, she would spend the rest of the night struggling on what to do.

Meanwhile, in one of the HQ's guest rooms, Noel and Makoto were lying down on the comfy queen sized beds set up inside. Makoto was lying on her side with jacket off and tail coiled over her hips, snoozing with a very agape mouth flooded with drool. Noel, on the other head, stared up at the blank ceiling with arms folded behind her head and her jacket off.

She wasn't covered in any sheets, but the cold in the room did little more than nip at her skin. In the midst of reminiscing about her days in the Military Academy, Noel pulled an arm out and laid it upon her chest, murmuring a single name out in melancholy…

"Tsubaki…"

The last time Noel had seen her dear friend, she had been tricked by Terumi into trying to arrest or kill her and Jin after they had gone to Kagutsuchi. Tsubaki had equipped herself with the Sealed Weapon: Izayoi, a forbidden artifact that slowly robs the user of their light in exchange for granting them great power. Dedicated to justice, Tsubaki had become blind to the trickery Terumi had pulled on her, and believed that her closest friends were criminals.

In time, Tsubaki had been consumed by the Izayoi's power and turned blind, and the last time Noel had laid an eye on her she had gained a pitch-black outfit and her eyes were a pale red. Yet, that last sight was nowhere near as impactful as the last sounds Noel heard.

" _I-If it wasn't for you Noel Vermillion…Jin would have been mine! You should have NEVER existed! I HATE YOU!"_

That vengeful scream shook Noel's lithe body like a rattle, and she brought her other arm out to cuddle herself as best she could.

"I-I know I said I'd save Tsubaki…B-But how can _I_ do anything to help her?" Riddled with a plague of self-doubt, Noel turned her body to lay on the left side, and ended up looking right at Makoto. Staring at her friend for a few seconds, Noel flopped onto her belly and laid her hands down to push herself up, spinning so she could put her feet over the edge and onto the ground. She then approached her friend's bed and reached out to give her cheek a couple meek pokes.

"Makoto…? A-Are you still awake?" She whispered. The squirrel-girl blubbered and smacked her lips while pulling her eyes open, tilting her head up to gleam at her friend.

"N-N-Noellers…?" She let out a large, jaw stretching yawn and smacked her lips a couple more times, "What's…up?"

"I don't know how you can sleep at a time like this…" Noel pondered with great confusion.

"What, you're having trouble?"

"I'm…thinking about Tsubaki."

"Ah, that'd explain it. Can't say I blame ya…" Makoto shoved the sheet off with a sweep of her tail and sat upright, laying her hands atop her legs.

"You're worried Tsubaki's not gonna wanna listen to you, aren't ya Noellers?"

"…I-I saw such hatred in her eyes, and she directed it at me. It's like she was a totally different person."

Makoto curled her lips into a scowl and threw her hands onto Noel's shoulders, looking her straight in the eyes.

"You can't let what that snaky bastard's done get under your skin Noel! It doesn't matter how far she's fallen into darkness, the real Tsubaki is still there somewhere, waiting for us to come rescue her!"

"Y-Yeah, but…"

"But! Nothing!" Makoto gave a hard swing of her head back and forth, focusing a stare right back onto her friend, "You've gotta stop beating yourself up all the time! If there's anyone, and I mean ANYONE who can save Tsubaki…It's her bestest friend in the whole wide world!"

Noel was shaken both figuratively and literally, but her friend's speech did rid her of some of the doubts in her mind for the time being. Cracking a smile, Noel gave her peppiest giggle and said, "Thanks Makoto…I-I'm sorry for bugging you."

"Stop with the apologies!" Makoto said, giggling all the while as she pinched her friend's cheeks in her playful manner. After a few seconds of doing that, Makoto lifted her head up and noticed someone at the door.

"Huh? Whatcha doing here Ms. Rachel?"

Noel turned around, seeing the vampire by her lonesome under the door frame, devoid of parasol or familiars.

"Noel Vermillion…Do you desire the power necessary to free your friend from the malicious grasp that has stricken her very being?"

Noel stared at Rachel with a blank look in her eyes, murmuring a repeat of what was spoken, "The power to…save Tsubaki?"

"Indeed. But it shall not be an easy road…The path to obtaining this power shall force you to confront your role as the Eye of the Azure…And the darkness reflected in your very heart."

The vampire had expected Noel to hesitate, yet was pleasantly surprised to see her looking forward with complete sternness.

"If you say this power can save Tsubaki, then I'll do it. So please Ms. Rachel, tell me what I have to do!"

"My my, such bravery…The lengths you'd go for those you care for never ceases to amaze me, Noel." Rachel brushed the side of her hair and stepped aside out the door, waving that same hand out further into the hall.

"Then come, follow me into the thrall of night, Noel Vermillion…"

Noel said good night to Makoto and then followed the vampire's guidance out of the room, taking her jacket back on. Watching Noel from behind for just a little, Rachel then closed her eyes and whispered to herself.

"I may hold no worth on the field of battle, little Overlord…But so long as I breathe, I shall do what I can to ensure the plan's success. The rest, however, is up to you and the others…" Then she strolled forward, ready to guide Noel towards a future of success in her endeavors…

 _Next Time: Dawn of the Final Day_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Formulating Freedom**

The next day, Alex once more sneaks his way towards Kagura's office, only to find the door had been kept unlocked thanks to the Colonel. Thus he went inside and made his way for the chair behind the desk, settling himself nice and comfortably onto it so he could prop his legs atop the desk and have himself pointed between the clock and the door.

It would still be some time before the first people he'd be explaining the plan to would show up, so the boy decided to review every last possible detail he had come with inside his head to make sure that everything was sound. By the time he got around to making a few minor last minute adjustments, the door to the office began to open.

Crossing his arms, he watched as Jin was the first to come inside. It was no surprise whatsoever that he was coming in already looking standoffish when Noel, Makoto and Kagura followed him in just a moment later. Jin opened his eyes just to let out his cold, rejecting 'Hmph!' and then stopped mere inches away from the front of the desk. The others lined up in front of the desk, with Kagura staring down at the heel of Alex's shoe rubbing into the primer of his desk.

The Colonel closed his eyes and grimaced as though wanting to speak up, but by sheer accident Alex sniped him by addressing the present group with a somewhat authoritative tone, "I'm glad you all made it. Even you, Jin."

"Hmph, there is no need for anyone else to be here. They will simply get in my way."

"Oh gaaaaaaawwddd…" Makoto groaned with growing impatience before throwing a snide glare at Jin, "Aren't ya EVER gonna get tired of that loner act Jinny?"

"M-Major, I know you don't think highly of us…Me especially," Noel spoke up with a brave glare right at the side of Jin's face, "But we can't just stand by while Tsubaki's in trouble. So please, let us help you."

Jin didn't even turn his head to acknowledge her resolve, and closed his eyes to make such a thing even easier. Alex gave his heel a hard tap on the edge of the desk to send a shockwave into Jin's gut, forcing his eyes open again. The boy gave him a stern glare and tapped his fingers along the length of his arm.

"Jin's got no choice in the matter, Noel. He WILL accept your help, because all of you are important for saving Tsubaki."

"All of us?" Kagura inquired with a motionless look of bewilderment, "I've met Tsubaki a couple times before during her Academy days…But would that really be enough to get her to listen to me?"

"Your role isn't to calm her down Kagura. At least, not through words." Alex scanned the rest of the group back and forth before continuing with the explanation of the plan.

"First things first, there's the matter of luring Tsubaki out into the open. Kagura, today I want you to call whatever HQ Tsubaki is currently stationed in and force contact with her. Just telling her 'Hey! I have information on Ragna the Bloodedge's location!' will let you lure her to whatever location you wish."

"There's a Coliseum not too far from here. To avoid getting innocent bystanders involved, it'd be best to set up the meeting there."

"Heh, I like the way you think, Kagura." Alex gave his compliment with a smile, then settled back into a serious demeanor.

"Anyways, once you've lured her into the Coliseum, it's up to all four of you to beat her up for a while."

"All four of us against just Tsubaki? I dunno, is that REAAALLY necessary?" Makoto expressed her qualms with miniscule amounts of doubt in her voice.

"I guess it IS overkill," Alex said with great nonchalance and a shrug, "But the sight of three of her closest friends fighting for her sake along with the pain she'll undergo from your attacks will be enough to break whatever hold the Imperator has on her. However, that's just the beginning…"

"There's no doubt in my mind that the Imperator will not let go of Tsubaki so easily. The Izayoi, specifically it's ability to use the Immortal Breaker weapon, is too valuable for the Imperator to surrender. The Imperator will therefore force Tsubaki to activate the Izayoi's true power, at which point it'll be up to Jin, with his Power of Order, to finish the job of freeing her from the Imperator's control."

"Why does it have to be just Jin?" Kagura inquired.

"The Izayoi isn't to be underestimated. Once that's activated, Jin is the only one with the strength to fight it."

"T-That's not true!" Noel suddenly blurted out, to the surprise of Kagura and even Jin. Alex then looked at her with a tilt of the head. Noel stared at him with a firm, unshaken glare and raised a fist before her chest.

"I know that I can help Major Kisaragi fight Tsubaki, even if the full power of the Izayoi is unleashed!" Noel continued to stare at Alex until their eyes were perfectly interlocked, and for a brief second the boy saw her eyes turn bright blue and the visage of a Murakumo blade appearing behind her body.

"… _Rachel, you sly dog…"_ Alex gave an impressed smirk and chuckle as his body shook a little, then looked at Noel and brushed his hands up so the back of his palms were pointed at his head.

"I can't stop you Noel. All I'm doing is giving the guidelines on what to do."

"Hmph, is that all?" Jin remarked with a bit of gruff in his voice, opening his eyes partway and giving a lazy glare towards Kagura.

"Then get to work, Kagura. I will head to the Coliseum when the time comes. The rest of you can stay behind." He then made his way for the door, leaving without noticing Makoto sticking her tongue out at him.

"Haaaaaaaaa…" Alex let out a long sigh, scratching the side of his scalp before giving a dull sounding apology, "Sorry you have to put up with him, but he IS key to the plan."

"I'm just grateful we'll be able to save Tsubaki," Noel stated with subdued joy, then she faced Alex and said with optimism, "A-And I'm sure Major Kisaragi appreciates what you're doing for him! D-Deep down that is…"

"Doesn't matter to me whether he does or not," Alex brushed the matter off, then leaned back until the chair creaked, "Now run along you guys. I need to prepare for the next group."

Once the others were gone, Alex looked up at the clock, realizing that this meeting went faster than he was expecting. He had thirty minutes to spare, and after shutting the door with his powers he closed his eyes and chose to take a short nap. Adrift in the depths of slumber, time passed by like a sultry breeze, and the door was once more pushed open.

He thrust his eyes open and saw Jubei and Kokonoe walking in, the two keeping their distance and standing at separate ends of the desk. Alex sat upright to be able to look at Jubei, then clasped his hands together and gave them a smile.

"Glad to see you both decided to come. Now, lets get down to business. See-"

"You brought us here to discuss the matter of Nine, didn't ya?" Jubei interrupted, not out of rudeness, but to the cut straight to the point. The boy blinked twice then parted his hands, laying them down on the arms of the chair while giving the cat a nod.

"Alright, but before we get to that there's something you need to know. Despite being a part of your own group, you'll be temporarily with groups 3 and 5 before the plan's fully put into effect. This plan has a lot of steps that have to work out perfectly, but that's why I'm leaving their execution up to Kokonoe."

"First things first, all three groups will meet up at the edge of the Coliseum and watch group 1 implement their plan to rescue Tsubaki from the bleachers. Shina, who will be in Group 5, shall concentrate on Tsubaki's aura until the Imperator interferes. Kokonoe, I'm going to need you to meet up with Shina sometime later today and create a device that will help amplify her aura detection capabilities so she can lock onto the Imperator's location from miles away."

"You expect me to do that by tomorrow?" She asked with a bit of bafflement in such high expectations, even for someone like her.

"Not just that, but I'll get to the other stuff in a bit. Once Shina's locked onto the Imperator's aura, you'll have to work with her to quickly triangulate the location and teleport her, Jubei, Group 3, and the rest of Group 5 to the Imperator's location. After everyone's gathered there, the Imperator will very likely summon the Phantom to deal with Jubei."

"What makes you say that?" Jubei pondered.

"Your Nox Nyctores is capable of cutting anything…Even the Imperator has reason to fear those blades. So, it stands to reason that the Imperator will have the Phantom fight Jubei, since a mage is the perfect counter to someone who attacks only with swords. The thing is, with the Imperator already having to focus on Tsubaki along with fighting Group 5, she won't be able to concentrate on controlling the Phantom too. Thus, she'll temporarily break her hold on the Phantom and allow 'Nine' to return."

"Then, this is the tricky part. No doubt in my mind that Nine will still be a little bit under the Imperator's control, and choose to fight Jubei on her own somewhere else. Kokonoe…You'll have to predict EXACTLY where Nine will take Jubei, set up at said location, and then create an Eclipse Field around the three of you so Nine won't be able to teleport away. After that, it's up to you whether you win or not."

Alex took in a very deep breath as his head ended up a little woozy from all that talking, and as he dug into his temples Kokonoe listed off everything she was expected to do with growing weariness.

"So…Create a device to amplify aura detection, which requires me to analyze an energy source I know LITTLE about…Predict where my own mother would want to go to fight…AND set up an Eclipse Field?" As she scratched the side of her head, Alex gave a terse and not very motivating nod.

"I'm going to need a goddamn month-long vacation when this is all over…" She grumbled like an old woman. Meanwhile, Jubei looked at Alex and asked, "Anything else we need to know?"

"…Yeah. Terumi's demise is assured, so don't try and focus on that during this operation."

"Thanks kid, means a lot to me to hear you say that." Jubei closed his eyes and his expression seemed as peaceful as a meditating monk. Kokonoe glanced at her father for a moment then turned around, laying a hand on her right hip.

"Well, if I've got work to do, then I better get started. Better not screw things up on your end, old man." She walked out, and after a deep sigh Jubei followed. Then, Alex leaned back into the chair and glanced at the clock.

" _This is going smoothly…so far. But explaining a plan and EXECUTING a plan are too separate beasts…"_ His body was tense in the shoulders, so he gave them a quick shrug, _"I just have to have faith that they will succeed."_

After another half-hour, the door opened again. This time, there was just one person coming inside, that being the proud werewolf himself, Valkenhayn. The butler carried himself with the usual grace that he would whenever he served Rachel as he approached the desk. Alex pulled himself out of the chair and looked the werewolf in the eyes, keeping that focus even as he rounded the desk.

"I'm glad you could make it, Valkenhayn."

"It seems that I am alone in this meeting of ours," The butler gave a short bow of the head and dolled out his most earnest praise, "Thank you…for not dragging Madame Rachel into this."

"I refuse to sacrifice anyone just to achieve victory. It's for the best if she doesn't fight." Once the boy was at the front of the desk, he turned so his right side was facing Valkenhayn and then leaned so his rear was touching the edge of the desk.

"Now, you're wondering why I called you here, right?"

"I've had my suspicions, I must admit, but most if not all are unfounded. Thus, I found it most wise to wait and hear the truth from the schemer's mouth."

"…Schemer sounds a little…villainous, wouldn't you agree?" The boy rubbed the side of his face with one finger, then shook his head and put the hand down at his hip, "Anyways. You're going to be briefly collaborating with Groups 2 and 5, since…"

Alex explained the earlier plan up until the point where the groups are teleported to the Imperator's location, the butler nodding his head a couple times with murmurs of intrigue at what he was hearing.

"Now, once you get to the Imperator, I suspect she won't be alone. Jubei and Kokonoe will be dealing with the Phantom, but you will be dealing with the other person who'll be hovering around the Imperator."

"Hrrrmm…As I suspected. It's Relius Clover, is it not?" Valkenhayn's teeth snarled into a fanged scowl, which only grew tenser as Alex affirmed the assumption with a nod.

"Out of everyone that'll be present at that moment, Relius will be interested in fighting either you or Hakumen the most. You will have to pressure him into choosing you as his target. It should be easy since you have a history together, right?"

"…It was a long, long time ago, and the man he is now is a far cry from the one I was once partnered with. Even so, I do believe that I'd be able to convince him to fight me."

"Good, then before the Phantom's freed from the Imperator's control, Relius will request to take you and him away to a different area of his choosing. Now the question is…" Alex twisted his head an inch to the right and gave the butler a stern glare, "Are you confident that you can defeat him?"

"Hmm…Though I deign myself to admit it, Relius Clover's mastery to puppets is far beyond what even I could have fathomed him capable of doing. Ignis is a frightening enough foe as is…Adding Relius himself to the mix makes them a near unconquerable duo that could give even the likes of Lord Hakumen trouble."

"But if you could disable Ignis, Relius by himself wouldn't be any trouble, correct?"

"Absolutely not," The butler spoke with over brimming confidence, "He knows of many spells and tricks, but his body is as mortal as any other."

He unsheathed his beastly right claw and thrust it towards the side of Alex's neck, making the boy's stomach curl for just a second as a cold sweat trickled down that side of his face. Valkenhayn then bore his fangs into a smile and said, "One strike through the jugular shall sever that monster's bond with the mortal world _forever_!"

His primal ferocity came forth through his voice, leaving Alex a mite bit shaken. The boy parted his hands from his chest and turned to look at the butler, "T-Then I'll provide you with a little insurance to make sure you deliver that decisive blow."

The boy raised his right hand up and concentrated on knowledge deep, deep within his own mind. Using that, he formed a metal gauntlet with claws that could fit around either of Valkenhayn's hand. He then swung his hand out and extended the gauntlet towards the butler.

"This glove is made out of Adamantium, a substance this world could not know ANYTHING about. It's near indestructible, but VERY heavy. Carry this gauntlet with you into battle Valkenhayn, but don't use it until you absolutely HAVE to. Otherwise, you'll throw off the balance of your attacks."

"But of course." Valkenhayn took the gauntlet from Alex's reach and his arm went down like he was weighing anchor on a sandy shore. He gripped the gauntlet tight and tucked it into his outfit, then patted it down and left the arm crossed before his chest.

"Aaaaand that's pretty much it. I'm leaving everything up to you." Alex said, and after a short bow Valkenhayn stated, "Thank you for your time. I shall not sully the honor of the Alucard name."

"Don't need to be telling **me** that, hehe." With a dry chuckle, the boy closed his eyes as Valkenhayn prepared to leave. However, before he was past the door, Alex widened his eyes back open and exclaimed, "Oh! Wait a second!"

The butler turned and gleamed at the boy, who looked at him and made haste to gesture a hand out and say, "Thanks again for your help with that feast last. You and Hibiki did a great job."

"Do not devalue your own contributions, Master Whiter. You put in far more effort than I could POSSIBLY have expected. A pity though that Lady Shina failed to recognize those efforts…"

"Y-Yeah, sure…" Alex glanced away with a light blush in his cheeks. Valkenhayn closed his eyes and gave a motivating smile.

"Do not lose heart, young Master. The road to love is ever rocky. I'm sure she'll recognize your feelings eventually." With his parting advice, Valkenhayn made his presence scarce, leaving Alex with something to ponder on as he waited for the next group to arrive. Though before they did, the boy decided to come up with a little surprise for one of the people in that group, then made his way to the desk.

When the door opened up and Ragna came through it, two spheres suspended above the door popped open and deposited a rain of confetti upon his body, followed by a victory jingle ringing in through the speakers.

"W-What the hell?!" He exclaimed while flailing his arms to get the confetti off his body. Alex, meanwhile, thrust up from his chair and clapped his hands with the ringing echo of cymbals.

"Congratulations! Ragna the Bloodedge, you're our first winner on…'Who Will Kill TERUUUUUUMI'!" With the boisterous bellow of a game show host, Alex welcomed Ragna into the room. The Grim Reaper spat some last bits of confetti from his mouth and glared the boy head-on.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack! What's the big idea?!"

"Look, **you** try sitting in an office for minutes on end with nothing to do and try to keep your sanity!" Alex exclaimed as he plopped back down onto the chair and kicked his legs up to the desk.

"Hmmmm, I do believe I'm beginning to understand why Lord Kagura goofs off as much as he does." Hibiki, who wandered into the room, spoke out with his biting sense of humor. Ragna turned around and stared at him with a couple puzzled blinks.

"Wait, what's the kiss-ass doing here?"

"I know as much as you do, Ragna the Bloodedge." Hibiki said while keeping his cool before moving past the Grim Reaper and approaching the desk. He glanced down at Alex digging his heels into the primer, his right brow muscles twitching, but kept to the topic at hand.

"So, what are you expecting me to do Alex?" He inquired, with Ragna rushing to the edge of the desk to try and make the boy answer faster by glaring him in the eyes.

"I meant what I said earlier. Ragna, out of everyone whose ever been wronged by Terumi, you're the one I've chosen to put that bastard down for good."

"Wait, seriously?" A rarity, Ragna gave an honest-to-god smile born from sheer overexcitement, "Kick-ass! Least I didn't have to suffer this bullshit for nothing!"

"Hey hey HEY!" Alex tried to get his attention with great demand in his tone, "Calm down a second! It's not that easy! We still have to get Terumi HERE, idiot!"

"Terumi will be coming here?" Hibiki inquired in surprise.

"Yeah. And you'll be responsible for that part of the plan, Hibiki. I want you to call the HQ he's in and tell him that you've heard about the traitors, Noel, Makoto and Jin, being in Ikaruga." Alex crossed his arms and looked only at Hibiki, "Terumi's too smart, he's NOT going to believe that's true. However, that same brilliance will also lead him to deduce that I'm using you as a proxy to lure him in. There's no way, whatsoever, that he'll know Ragna is here."

"Ah, I get it now! So we'll lure Terumi in, then gank the bastard through the heart when he isn't looking!" Ragna exclaimed, sounding proud for figuring this out.

"That's…" Alex could feel an aneurysm starting in his brain, and slumped back while rubbing his forehead, "N-No you **idiot** , that won't work!"

"…Haaa…Hey, look, listen. I'll make it simple for you Ragna. Hibiki is going to call Terumi for a meeting in this office. So we don't give Terumi any indication that we're here, you and I will stay outside the HQ until it's CERTAIN that Terumi is here. Then, we'll come inside, corner Terumi in this office, THEN after whatever fight that snaky shithead puts up you'll use your Black Onslaught to kill both him and his vessel."

"Got it?" Alex ended on a firm, bitter sounding note, after which Ragna closed his eyes and growled, "Ghhh, fine, fine. Asshole…"

"Of course, this plan will only succeed perfectly if Hibiki can fight. You know, just in case Terumi deduces things too early." Alex tilted his head at the Captain, who gave a humble bow.

"Lord Kagura doesn't value me simply for my work ethic, I'll have you know."

"Alright, but feel free to bail if it proves too much. Once Teurmi's inside this building, he's trapped, and I'd rather not be the one to tell Kagura that I got his right-hand man killed."

"I'll keep that in mind, but I do believe you underestimate my capabilities."

"Or **you** are underestimating **his**. Well, whatever, I've told you all I need to, so your fate's yours to do with as you wish, Hibiki." Alex sunk back into the chair and then brushed the back of his right fingers out.

"Now run along, I got one more group to talk to, then we'll be able to prepare for the final battle tomorrow." He closed his eyes and got into a relaxed pose, causing Ragna to sneer at him.

"Hmph, glad you're relaxing while we're all busting our asses to make **your** plan work…Whatever, as long as Terumi gets his just desserts." The Grim Reaper turned and headed out the door, same with Hibiki a moment later. Alex looked up at the clock, it was now half past ten in the morning.

" _I really should've lessened the gaps between meetings. God, this is so boring…"_ He spent the time waiting literally twiddling his thumbs around in front of his chest. Then, he put his hands down comfortably into his pockets when the door began to open. He then lowered his legs to present himself in a more respectable manner for his company, which was a trio consisting of Hakumen, Shina, and Platinum.

And, to the surprise of nobody, Luna entered the room already bitching, "This blows! Why are we forced to hang around with Boobpole and the Living Statue?! I wanna team up with Mr. Jubei!"

Before the three were halfway across the room, Alex looked at Shina and didn't even waste a second requesting, "Shina, can you shut her up before I have to?"

The child turned to him and went "Gah! It's that wicked Overlord again!"

"You saw me just last night." Alex grumbled in a dull tone of frustration. Before Luna could open her mouth and spew any further obscenities, Shina poured some of her aura into Platinum's body to force Trinity to emerge as the dominant self. The child's eyes opened without the heart-shaped pupils, and they spoke with their mature, gentle voice.

"O-Oh…Mmmrrr…" They had to take a moment to awake, during that time Hakumen turned away from the desk and looked at the child. Even without an expression, it was clear he was experiencing just the slightest bit of nostalgia.

"The Platinum Alchemist herself…To think that a mere child would be strong enough to vessel your soul."

"L-Lord Hakumen?" The child's face went from surprise to that of bliss in a matter of seconds, their grin as wide their face would allow, "It has been a very long time. I never thought I'd see you again, though I wish the circumstances were different."

"…Do not push yourself too far, Trinity Glassfille." Hakumen showed a tiny bit of care before he went back to facing Alex. Shina and Platinum approached the desk, and Shina provided the child with an aura platform to see the boy eye-to-eye.

"Yeah, stuff the reunion talk for later. We have to go over the plan while Trinity is still conscious." Alex, on the other hand, cut right to the chase, causing Shina to make the occasional glance at the child while whispering sternly out the side of her mouth, "Aleeeeeex…"

The child looked straight at Alex and looked struck with awe, "Y-You're him…! The Elemental Overlord!"

"It's not the same person as before, merely his successor…" Hakumen noted, while Alex shook his head and didn't seem all too excited about the comparisons.

"Give me a break…" He grumbled.

"…I'm sorry, you looked a lot like him. That's all…" Trinity apologized, then kept quiet and attentive for Alex's sake. Once the boy sighed his minor stress away, he propped his head up with his fists and elbows and looked at the assembled trio in a single glance.

Shina was fidgeting around, holding her arms before her waist and smiling while looking up at both Hakumen and then down at Platinum. She was blushing and giggling, a result of being surrounded by such famous heroes.

"Ahem…!" Alex gave a rough cough and her attention snapped towards him with her body making a short hop on it's own.

"So, you're the final group I have to discuss the plan with, and I'm not going to lie…You three have the toughest job of all. But first…" Alex explained what he had told Groups 2 and 3, up until the point that they would be in front of the Imperator. Shina's expression slowly changed to one of frowning doubt as the plan was detailed.

"Once Groups 2 and 3 have split up, you three will be left to deal with the biggest threat. To save this world from evil, you have the daunting task of killing Death itself…For you see, the Imperator's true identity, or rather the identity of the monster possessing Saya…Is Hades: Izanami."

"W-What?!" Trinity exclaimed in utter fright.

"I see…So that is the meaning behind that haunting presence I felt from the Imperator." Hakumen, on the other hand, stayed calm, eerily so.

Shina, meanwhile, sealed her lips tight and looked away, her body making it plain and clear how nervous she was. Yet, though Alex expected her to speak up, she did not, and he continued unimpeded.

"There's no doubt that, on the scale of threats in this world, if Terumi is a 10...Izanami is a 15. Not only is she the driving force allowing Terumi and Relius to get away with all their crimes, but she's an immortal Death Goddess who more than likely won't be happy until she's wiped this world clean of all life. But I don't give a damn what anyone says…There's no such thing as 'true immortality'. There's always one weakness, one _glaring_ flaw that can be exploited to kill someone."

"You've come up with a plan to kill Death?" Trinity inquired, sounding somewhat in disbelief yet at the same time quite a bit impressed.

"Yes, but you all have to work together to do it," He then focused his gaze right onto Shina, "Shina…You told me that your Valkyrie Drive has a second blade that can rend a person's aura from their body, correct?"

"Y-Y-Yes! Yes! It can!" She stammered with certainty.

"And that, right there, is the key to overcoming Izanami's so-called 'immortality'. Her nature as a Death Goddess, that title she prides with such arrogance, is ingrained into her very being, which in turn means it's a part of her aura as well. Thus, to kill Death, you have to stop 'Death' from existing at all."

"I see…So the child of aura's power will render Death powerless, and vulnerable to the very thing she would once have held dominion over." Hakumen commented.

"It's not that simple though. Izanami's not weak. She'll have a lot of aura to get through before she'll be made vulnerable. That's why I'm having you and Trinity provide back-up. The Muchorin's ability to produce all manner of matter will be perfect for providing long-range cover, while the Ookami's ability to nullify Seithr will prevent Izanami from trying anything that relies on that energy source."

"Also, just to make certain that Izanami dies when her aura is depleted…" Alex turned his head to Hakumen, specifically the blade on his back, "Hakumen, I want you to use your Time Killer technique on her."

"…Very well." Hakumen turned around and began to make his way out of the room, and Alex didn't bother with a paltry effort to stop him. He closed his eyes and stamped his feet back up on the desk.

"That's all I've got to say. Make your final preparations today, and be ready to fight at the crack of dawn tomorrow." He sunk into a nap-like state of being, and Shina stared at him for a few seconds until Platinum started to leave the room. Then, she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and made her way for the door, stopping only once she saw that Platinum was out of earshot of the door.

Then, with a hesitant hold on the knob, Shina shut the door and locked it up, the sharp click breaking through the otherwise silent atmosphere and waking Alex from his attempt at slumber. The boy sat upright and looked at her.

"…Is there something on your mind?" He inquired. There was a pause as Shina lowered her hand and curled it into a fist, during that time the boy glared at her with sagging eyes as he was fully expecting her first remark. Without warning though, she spun around and held the fist up in front of her chest.

"I-I can't take it anymore Alex! I have to get this off my chest right now or it's gonna burst!" The energy with which she blurted that out threw the boy back a little, his heart skipping a beat and then the pace getting faster and faster as she made her way over to the desk, eyes filled with her passion.

" _W-Wait a second…! T-This isn't how this is supposed to go!"_ He was in a panic, his gaze shifting back and forth as Shina leaned forward and puckered her rosy lips, laying her hands at the edge of the desk. As her mouth opened, the boy braced himself for what was to come with a nervous sweat forming at his skin.

"I think this entire plan is stupid!" But what came out was something far and away from what he expected. Shina, out of all the others that came in, was the one expressing objections to what had been said.

"W-W-What?" Alex sputtered forth, finding his hands gripped upon the ends of the chair's arms without his knowing of it happening until then. As he pulled them off, Shina looked him clean in the eyes and expressed herself without restraint.

"I **know** you're really powerful Alex! You could beat Terumi! And Relius and Nine and Izanami and all of them! So why are you asking everyone else for help?!"

"Shina…" The sheer extent of her faith in him left him speechless for quite some time. When he spoke again, it was only to quell those hopes with an explanation he had honestly been prepared to give. However, in a show of personal respect, Alex got up from the chair and walked around the desk.

"You're not wrong. I could probably take on all the evils of this world at the same time…If it wasn't for what happened with Terumi before," He crossed his arms and stopped to lean against the front of the desk, leaning back to look out the window, "For the first time in a long while, he made me feel vulnerable. He managed to outwit me, and leave me a battered mess on the ground…"

"He **knew** how I'd react and took advantage of that. So long as he has that knowledge, I can't afford to try and bum rush their entire group. It'd just lead to me getting my ass kicked again." The boy then shrugged his right hand out beside his face.

"Besides, just because I have an obligation to help this world as the Elemental Overlord doesn't mean I have to do it alone. This is their world, not ours, and they have the right to take a stand against the monsters that have ruined their lives far more than either of us do. Remember, once we get the artifact piece, we're out of here."

"I-I haven't forgotten, but…" Shina looked at him and after shaking her head proclaimed, "Then you should leave Terumi to me! You're better suited for fighting Izanami!"

"No I'm not!" Alex blurted with certainty, waving his gloved fist up next to Shina's face, "Sure, the Blazing Overlord Fist WOULD obliterate both Izanami's body and soul, but it'd also destroy whatever city that bitch's holed herself up in. Your method of stopping her is safer, and-"

He stopped and glanced to the right upon hearing her shiver. Lowering his fist and seeing her bite her teeth down, he saw a not-so-subtle glint of fear in her eyes. He dropped his hand to the side of his hip and sunk his head against his chest.

"…You're scared of dying, aren't you?"

"A-A-And you're not?"

Alex started to tuck his hands into his pockets, but a feeling he could not described stopped him partway. A heavy weight pressed down on his heart, and he turned and raised his hands to place them on Shina's shoulders. He looked her in the eyes, accepting the fear projected through the gaze of their sparkling emerald irises, and listened as her heart pounded against her chest like an uneven drum.

"You…are **NOT** going to die." He kept a gentle grasp on her shoulders and took a deep breath in, "Look me in the eyes, and repeat after me Shina…I am NOT going to die."

"I-I-I am not going to die…"

"I…I am not going to die…"

"I…" Shina's tone grew bitter and she swallowed a tense gulp of saliva. Then, with eyes watering, she flung her arms around Alex's waist and held him close to her chest, resting her head over his left shoulder.

"I-I'm scared Alex…" She whispered, her body shaking his with every shiver that went through her nerves. She curled her fingers in, digging the nails into his shirt so he'd not let go.

"I-I've felt what it's like to die and…a-and it's so cold, so scary…s-so painful. R-Right?"

"…R-R-Right…" Alex shifted his gaze to the left, looking back as Shina's hair brushed against the skin of his neck from her head shaking.

"I-If we die now, that's it. I-I just don't want everything we've done to mean nothing…" Shina's eyes watered, a couple drops trickling down onto the top of Alex's shoulder. The boy shook from head-to-toe, and then he cupped his arms around Shina's abdomen and gave her a couple comforting pats on the back.

"It's not. I swear on my life that we **will** succeed. And…and…" The boy pushed himself away nice and slow, helping Shina stand upright again so he could look into her tearful eyes. He took a deep breath in, finding the words he wanted to say stuck in the middle of his throat. With a dry cough, he forced something else out instead.

"W-When this battle is over…T-There's something I want to tell you. Actually, there's a _lot_ to talk about. For now, please have more faith in yourself Shina, and remember these words…"

"Don't run away…Don't run away from living." Alex then lowered one hand and patted her left shoulder with the other, for a moment brushing the side of her neck as he pulled that hand down into his pocket.

"T-Thank you…" Shina curled her hands up in the center of her chest and tilted her head with a smile, "You're…a really good friend Alex. I'm glad I met you."

She made her way for the door, only looking back once as she opened it and saw herself out. All alone, Alex raised his gloved hand up in front of his face and then laid it atop his chest to feel his rapid heart-beat.

"… _Now I have even more of a reason to fight. Terumi…We're coming for you!"_

 _Next Time: Through Evil's Eyes_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Day of Destruction**

On this world, there exist twenty-four Hierarchical Cities across most of the seven continents. The cities serve as a means of protecting the remaining populace from the Seithr covering the planet. However, there is one more city that existed long before the twenty-four, and is still intact to this day even though it has been mostly abandoned by time.

It is the Magic City Ishana, once home to the Ten Sages and the Magic Association of which they governed. It was the birthplace of Nox Nyctores and Ars Magus and the home of two of the Six Heroes, Nine and Trinity. Nowadays though, the city is desolate, the streets deprived of the hustle and bustle of the young mages who lived there.

That's not to say the place is inactive though. It's Cauldron still burns to this day, and it's considered one of the strongest of it's kind. Most people don't remember this place exists, thanks to a barrier that cloaks it from the outside world. And it is because of that very barrier that this city is the perfect place for the evils that haunt this world to hide away and plot their nefarious schemes.

Far beneath the magical city lies the Cauldron, which was sealed up inside of a bright, crystalline Azure room. The energy from the Cauldron was so strong, that shining energy pushed through the creases in the multi-layered seal and illuminated the entire room. On the ceiling is a rounded seal depicting a machine shaped like a coffin with winged arms, and from it spread dozens of irregular cracks that made the roof look ready to break from even the slightest tap.

Basking in the center of the Cauldron's radiance without exposing so much as a single flaw in their body was a woman with the white-red attire of a Japanese empress. A dark cape was draped over her shoulders, covering most of the elegant outfit, all of it kept together by a light blue sash in the middle. Her hair was very long, reaching past her hips and being as violet as the most vile of posions. It was tied up by a golden lock with four small protrusions, and around her forehead was a circular ringed crowned with four spikes sticking downward around it. With all her clothes, the only bit of skin exposed was the ghostly pale skin on her face, which only served to accentuate how red and lifeless her eyes are.

The woman stared at the seal in the ceiling for a prolonged period of time, not even budging an eyelid to blink. She then parted her arms from their crossed state, spreading her sleek, spindly fingers out beside her hips in order to help focus. What she was doing was something known only to herself, yet as her sudden halting would show, her efforts appeared to be fruitless. She opened her eyes and stared back up at the seal, pushing her hands back into the folds of her sleeves.

"How perplexing…" She spoke with the elegance and maturity expected of one of her title, but could not be bothered to put any effort into being anything beyond monotone.

"Still having difficulty are we, Imperator?" With a deep tone of decorousness, a man approached the woman from behind without making any other sound.

He was a tall, studious looking person wearing a purple shirt with black rimming and a flowing magenta cape along with baggy white tights tucked into stylized black and purple boots. His rugged face was covered by a golden opera mask, and his golden hair is slicked back just a little. Behind him was a puppet even taller than himself, which looked too close to an actual human save for the snow white face and sharp, pointed fingers. It wears a lavender dress and had prominent, feminine features that ended near the head, which was adorned with a strange cap that had two praying Mantis like claws sticking out from the sides.

The man stayed at the edge of the Cauldron, his puppet hovering no more than a foot behind him, and looked at the woman with subdued interest. The woman nudged her eyes just a little to the right, acknowledging the man's presence with a miniscule hint of surprise.

"Relius Clover…You have returned sooner than I expected. I presume you have managed to activate Kazamotsu's Cauldron?"

"Everything is proceeding smoothly on my end, Imperator," The man spoke with a tiny smirk of confidence, "However, it appears the same cannot be said for you."

"Indeed," The Imperator spoke with only the mildest sense that she was perturbed, "Try as I may, the Takamagahara system appears unable to perform any manner of Phenomenon Intervention."

"Hmmm, what a rather intriguing phenomenon…" Relius responded while rubbing his scraggy beard, his tone beginning to blossom with curiosity.

"Is that meant to be a joke, Relius?" The Imperator pondered, pressing the man with a depravity of her own patience.

"Not at all, Imperator. I merely find this matter worth my time investigating," He said, his joy palpable in though his smile was not, "If you are willing, I can assist you in running a few diagnosis's."

The Imperator stood as still as a statue and parted her hands as though ready to address an entire audience of commoners. Looking towards the seal in the ceiling, she showed no weakness in her stature as she addressed the man with but one word, "Proceed."

Drawing his right hand out without a care, the man made a sharp click with his fingers and the doll behind him stirred to life.

"Ignis, prepare to Observe, then proceed to record and transmit all data to me." Relius gave his command and the doll complied, placing one of it's palm atop the man's hand while her azure eyes let out a glint of light while trailing it's gaze on the Imperator.

Through the Imperator's eyes, Ignis and thus Relius saw a white void with only three standard wooden chairs decorating it. The shadows from the chairs stretched in a curve to the right of each other, nearly making a complete circle. A silence born of nothingness permeated the void, even as the Imperator concentrated her power into it. Yet, as she did so, everything shook and contorted with walls of static, and the silence was broken by what sounded like claws scratching against the hardened walls of reality itself.

As the static grew violent to the point of leaving tears in the void, a figure with draping pink hair and a priestess' robe appeared for only a nanosecond and threw a glare towards those observing this void. The trio were thrown out of this realm, Relius finding his head forced to hunch forward while Ignis' claws draped at her hips. The Imperator, meanwhile, looked none the different.

Relius raised a hand to cover the right side of his face, the left rising in tune with his smirk, "How very intriguing…It appears as though we are the ones being intervened upon."

The Imperator, draped in a veil of silence, looked towards the seal once more and furrowed her brows just a little. Relius composed himself, renewed by the energy brought upon by rising curiosity, and gestured towards the woman, "Could this be the work of the Master Unit, perhaps?"

"Impossible. Were it her doing, then any further efforts on our end would be futile…" The Imperator replied with a shake of the head.

"Hmmm, you may be right. Then perhaps you simply do not have the energy necessary to maintain the Takamagahara system. Do you feel any strain in your vessel, Imperator?"

"Not at all…" The Imperator began to caress the front of her body nice and slow, "My essence is perfectly captured within this vessel you created. Relius Clover, there is naught a flaw in your design."

"Your praise shall always be appreciated, Imperator," Relius bowed, then gestured his right hand out past his cape, "But if the problem does not reside within your vessel, nor in the Master Unit…Then perhaps it lies in the system itself."

"Ehehehe! As if a system as advanced as that could get screwed up by something as banal as a little gunk in the works!" A gleeful, cackling remark echoed throughout the chamber, coming from near the back. The Imperator peered over her shoulder while Relius turned around, watching as Terumi hopped down from the nearby ledge while holding down his hat with his right hand.

"Come on now…We all know who's to blame here." Terumi smirked and perked his head up just enough to stare at his comrades with his glowing, snaky eyes.

"Do you have something you wish to tell us, Terumi?" The Imperator inquired with a piercing stare his way, which made the man's vessel shiver from the head down.

"Hey hey hey now, why am I the one getting the stink eye here?" Terumi tried to play himself off like an innocent bystander being interrogated by the police, before proceeding to crack a wide smirk and taking some glee in asking, "What? You don't believe that **I** had something to do with this screw-up, do you? It's not like it was **my** virus that left those three old geezers crawling to their graves!"

"There isreason to doubt your competency, Terumi, especially in light of your failure to eliminate that meddlesome Elemental Overlord." The Imperator remarked without so much as a hint of mercy in her scolding.

"Cut me a little slack, won't you? I had that pathetic worm dead for rights…Yet again, you have that Phantom to blame. Guess some dolls just don't hold up as well under pressure as others!" As Terumi shrugged, his body was surrounded by three electrified triangles aimed at his heart and neck, guided there by a wave of the Imperator's left hand.

"There is but little difference in who is responsible, Terumi…If that child is the one who has caused this intervention, then I shall ensure that your death is made certain."

Terumi closed his eyes and continued to be one cool customer, flipping his hands up beside his face as only a single bead of sweat trickled down the face, "Take it easy… _'Your Highness'_ …It's not as though I _hadn't_ planned to deal with those loose ends…"

He opened his eyes and gleamed at the Imperator with his glowing slits, "But since that day, that chicken's gone and holed himself up in a coop to lick his wounds. I didn't have even a single clue to go on…Until now."

The Imperator stared at Terumi for a few seconds then lowered her hand, the triangles shrinking and being pulled back into the fold of her sleeve, "Is that so? Speak, Yuuki Terumi."

"Whew…Always the hard-ass, aren't you?" Terumi grumbled under a sigh of relief, then smiled and laid a hand atop his hat.

"As it just so happens, I received a peculiar call from Captain Hibiki Kohaku of the Yabiko Branch. He claims to have… _received_ key intel on our runaway traitors, and wishes for me to come and discuss what he's learned today," Terumi then tipped his hat back and grinned, "At the same time, Lieute-…Oh I'm sorry, _Major_ Tsubaki Yayoi, received a call from the Black Knight himself to discuss a lead on our meddlesome little Raggy."

Closing his eyes, he proceeded to speak with a forcibly curious tone, "Now, doesn't that strike anyone as a little odd? It's far too much of a coincidence for both meetings to be requested for at the same time…"

"The Izayoi is not allowed to leave our sight. Restrain her by any means necessary." The Imperator demanded with great authority.

"Oh yeeaaaaah, hehe, funny story about that," Terumi giggled all nonchalant before forcing a frown upon his face, "I tried…Honestly, I did…But you know how that child is. The moment she heard the name 'Ragna' she dropped whatever she's doing and took right off for Ikaruga."

With a grin as wide as his face, Terumi took great delight in taunting the girl behind her back, "Guess she's blind in more ways than one, eh?"

The Imperator looked away from that deplorable man and tilted her head towards the ceiling, closing her eyes and pondering the situation as best she could.

"You have underestimated that child, Terumi…To think that he would use members of our own organization as bait to lure you and the Izayoi out of hiding."

"Heeeeey, look on the bright side 'Your Highness'," Terumi remained as chipper as a baby bird, providing his own twisted manner of reassurance to the sullen woman, "Thanks to that brat's misguided efforts, we now have confirmation of Colonel Kagura's treachery. This sounds to me like a perfect opportunity to snip the flower of rebellion in the bud. Aaaaand…what better way to test the Izayoi than to set her upon the Black Knight?"

"There is reason in what Terumi says, Imperator," Relius spoke up, providing his deductive reasoning to the table, "Even the Elemental Overlord cannot be in two places at once. And by process of elimination, it is more than likely that the child means to confront Terumi. Personally, I see no harm in allowing the Izayoi to engage the Black Knight in combat."

"Lest you forget, Relius, that the Elemental Overlord is not alone." The Imperator noted with a glance to the left.

"You refer to the Aurian?" Relius laid a hand on his chin and cracked a tiny smile of intrigue, "It would be a most interesting endeavor to dissect and learn just how their power works…"

He then swung his hand out and relaxed himself into a more natural state of mind, "But if it comes down to it, having the Izayoi eliminate her would be in our best interests. Wouldn't you agree, Imperator?"

The face of the Imperator creaked as she cracked a small but sinister grin, responding to her comrade with a lucid tone, "It matters not how they are eliminated. So long as death is brought upon those fool-hearty enough to stand in defiance of my will, then that is all that I require."

"And as far as that bratty Overlord goes, I might as well play along with his little game. If he's got the balls to come out of hiding, then I might as well crush them and his fragile little heart while I'm at it." Terumi had a nice grin on his face, but then put on a mild-mannered demeanor before addressing the Imperator.

"Oh, but if it's no burden to you, 'your highness', I would like to borrow your 'Sword' temporarily. Figure I might need the little extra help this time."

"Is it even ready?" The Imperator inquired.

"You'd be surprised how quickly a 'Sword' smelts with a little…motivation, heheh…" His chuckle was deep and oozing with malice, but the Imperator held not a care towards his tone.

"Do whatever you must, Terumi, but know that failure shall no longer be tolerated."

"Honestly, if you're so concerned about that brat, then perhaps you'd be better off dealing with him on your own," Terumi raised his head a bit and peered at the Imperator with a smirk, "Unless of course…you're scared of him."

Before the man could blink, the Imperator was behind him with her back turned and a cold air present around the body. Terumi shivered and his body went stiff, even though the woman had not a hint of aggression in her being.

"You believe I know fear, Yuuki Terumi? Man and woman alike, shackled by their pitiful mortal flesh, pray and beg for my grasp to avert from their fragile existences…Time, as primordial as the universe itself, holds naught any thrall over me…And even Gods, drunken on their heathen pleasures, shall all be toppled from their lofty thrones. I know no fear, Yuuki Terumi, for I **AM** that which all that live and breathe fear…I am Hades: Izanami, I **AM** Death…"

Before Terumi could yet again blink, the Imperator was gone without leaving even a trace of her existence behind. The man laid a hand atop his hat and wiggled what little unsettlement remained off his body.

"Boy, that bitch really knows how to leave me in chills," He then looked up at Relius and put on a jolly good smile, "Well! Guess I'll head-off! Wouldn't want to be tardy for my 'meeting' now would I?"

As Terumi spun on a dime, Relius began to advance towards him and remarked with inquiring respect, "Hold on, Terumi."

"What? What? Can't you see I'm in a rush here Relius?" Terumi said with a gleam of impatience from his eyes. The man stopped a few feet away from his ally, Ignis choosing only to hover precariously behind him.

"This shall only take a moment. It's regarding that stone you procured from Number 13's body. If you have it on you, I would like to take a look at it."

"That's it? Seriously?" Terumi seemed a bit miffed at the request, but wasted no time in reaching into his jacket and pulling the curved stone right out. He then waved it at his face like a fan and grinned.

"Don't know why you care, but whatever. I was planning on leaving it here anyways." He gave a nonchalant wave of the hand to flick the stone over to Relius, who clasped it out of the air and brought it up to his face without even a second of pause.

"The carvings on this stone can be dated back to two-thousand years ago, and it appears to have been undisturbed as far as surface structure goes. However…" Relius gave the stone a nice and slow swivel around, "The innards have been tampered with. There are fragments of two souls residing within."

"Two souls? I can imagine there's a remnant of No. 13's, but-"

"No. Number 13's soul is not present within the stone. In fact, I cannot even begin to recognize the nature of these souls."

"Really? **You** of all people can't analyze a soul?" Terumi said with a bit of shock, while Relius seemed to find this revelation worth smiling about.

"It's fascinating, isn't it? A stone that can house souls, a child that can wield all the elements, a girl who can manipulate the essence of the self with relative ease…" Relius raised a hand to his face, spreading his fingers to cover the expression of curiosity born ecstasy.

"To think, even if I were to exhaust all there is to learn in this world, there exists entire other worlds for me to pilfer for knowledge. Truly, I have to thank the Elemental Overlord for opening my eyes to these possibilities."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself there Relius. You're stuck on this crappy world just like the rest of us." Terumi said, taking a couple cautious steps back as his ally's joy was disturbing him.

"Why should I constrain myself to the limits of this world, knowing what I know now? The possibilities for what I could accomplish are as infinite as the universe itself. Just imagine what could lie on those countless worlds…There could be a planet dominated by talking beasts, a world where fantasy is reality and reality is fantasy. Hahahah…! I must explore these possibilities, and discern whatever truths they may hide!"

Terumi raised his brows and twisted the left side of his mouth into a worried scowl, then plucked the stone free from Relius' grasp while telling him, "That's enough of that."

As soon as it was out of his grasp, Relius paused and drew the hand away from his face, placing it under the fold of his cape while letting out a dry cough.

"…Hmph, I suppose there will be plenty of time for that later. For now, I find the presence of two fragmented souls within that stone most fascinating." His tone had renewed composure, as though what just happened was beneath his notice.

"Two souls, eh?" Terumi dangled the stone between a couple fingers before his face, using the artifact to hide a sly, fanged grin.

"Though it was impossible to discern their natures at a glance, there was one thing I noticed. One of the souls appeared to be actively avoiding the presence of another."

"What? You saying one of the souls has…sentience?"

"A soul forming it's own sense of autonomy beyond the death of it's vessel is not unforeseen, as Unit 13 has demonstrated to us through it's possession of Unit 11."

"Grrrr…No need to remind me of _that_ one, Relius." Terumi tucked the stone into his right pocket and glanced aside with a trembling, bitter scowl. Then he turned around and waved that hand out without a care.

"Well whatever. I'm going to go take care of that brat now. Later!" He strolled through the Cauldron area until he exited the room, at which point he paused and reached down for the stone, taking one more glance at it.

"Hehehe…! Well then, so there's more to this thing than meets the eye, is there now?" He gave the stone a quick toss and then clasped it down, bringing it before his chest with his gaze palpable with excitement.

"So long as you hold up your end of the bargain, I couldn't give less of a shit about what secrets this stone holds!" He then thrust his fists out at his hips and screamed towards the sky, "Pay attention you damn witch! I'll give you the greatest show you've ever feasted your eyes upon! A banquet filled with that brat's screams of ever-lasting agony and despair! So watch, observe to your hearts content, for I shall be the one who stands triumphant!"

 _A few hours later…_

Standing at the rooftops of Yabiko HQ, Hibiki looked to the cloudy skies and watched as an advanced looking jet descended upon his general vicinity. He kept his poise at it's utmost peak, only moving to ensure his tie is adjusted. Though his task was a daunting one, his heart did not beat any faster than the norm, even as the shutters of the jet opened and the ramp touched the ground, 'Hazama' trotting his way into view.

Hibiki kept his gaze laser-focused on the man while crossing an arm before his chest and bowing, even as it wounded his pride to do so knowing the truth.

"Welcome to Yabiko. You must be Captain Hazama of the Intelligence Division, correct?"

"Ah, and you must be Captain Kohaku." 'Hazama' stopped and offered his hand to the man, knowing full well that the two of them were playing a game of deception.

"I've heard a lot about you. You're got a **killer** record…" For a moment 'Hazama' popped a fanged grin, then continued as though his sentence flowed naturally, "…when it comes to keeping your superior officer in line."

"It's not the most thankful of jobs at times," Hibiki raised his hand to shake the man's own, "but so long as he requires my aid I shall always be there for Lord Kagura."

"Speaking of the young horndog, I'm surprised he's not the one who arranged our little get together. Is he preoccupied?"

"Lord Kagura is currently busy attending to his own affairs. He should be back within the next hour. However, even I have not disclosed this information to him."

"Ohohoh! Being a secretive little squirrel, are we now? Then why, pray tell, am I being the first to learn about this lead on Ragna the Bloodedge?"

"Simply put, after word spread about the incident in Kagutsuchi, I was concerned about inciting mass panic within the populace by having Ragna's presence be announced. The way I see it, it was much safer to contact someone who has had experience dealing with the Grim Reaper, and with those traitors Jin, Noel and Makoto on the run you were the only one I could confide in."

Even staring into 'Hazama's' unsettlingly closed eyes, Hibiki came up with lie after lie on the fly, causing the man to be able to do little but grin and keep following along.

"Well you've chosen wisely, Captain Kohaku. Though I may abhor fighting, I have plenty of expertise to offer when it comes to Ragna the Bloodedge that will serve us well in containing him. Though, this windy rooftop might not be the best place to discuss such matters, wouldn't you agree, Captain?"

"Quite so. Luckily, I have prepared Lord Kagura's office accordingly for your arrival. Shall we be on our way?"

"Lead the way!" The two then crossed the roof to the door leading down into the building, leaving the door to the jet open. A second after they had left, an arm flopped onto the floor of the jet just under the frame of the door, where it was soon nudged aside by a blood drenched, thick bladed foot to reveal that it had been cut clean off a person's body. Then, through the silence, a childish fit of giggling broke out…

Outside of the HQ, at the bottom of the winding staircase leading up to it, Alex looked up at the rooftops as the jet heralding Terumi's arrival landed. He then tapped a couple fingers on the side of his head and glanced away from the sky, Ragna sitting impatiently on a branch behind him.

"Kokonoe. Is everyone else in position?" He inquired to a hidden communicator.

" _My men are escorting Tsubaki Yayoi to the Coliseum as we speak."_ Kagura replied first.

" _And our groups are in the rafters waiting for the signal to go after Izanami!"_ Shina exclaimed with a lot of energy.

" _And I've got everything ready on my end. So, Terumi's arrived, huh?"_ Kokonoe added to the mix.

"Yeah. Ragna and I'll be engaging him in a second." The boy turned to the Grim Reaper, who perked his brows up and thrust himself to his feet in an instant.

"What're we waiting for? Lets take that bastard down now." He was raring to go, and for once Alex wasn't going to dissuade his energy.

"Good luck to the rest of you. Oh, and Kokonoe, thanks for teleporting Tao back to Kagutsuchi. Least she won't get caught up in all this."

" _Don't mention it. Just don't screw this up. I want to see Terumi's head rolling on the ground when you're done with him!"_

"Ha! There won't even be any ashes left by the time we're done with him!" He then pulled his fingers away and thrust them at the HQ like a pistol.

"Lets go kick some ass Ragna!" The Grim Reaper had no disagreements to that plan and readied a hand onto his sword to make sure it's secure. The two then ran up the stairs and charged their way into the building, whose front doors were already open ahead of time.

They ended up in the lobby, which was illuminated by a strange blue-leaved tree in the center of the room and dangling red spheres coming down from the ceiling. Around the tree was the way to the inside of the HQ, with Kagura's office not too far beyond it. For a moment, Ragna cricked his neck and cracked a scowl in preparation.

"You're going to pay for everything you've done, Terumi…!"

" _Yeah, he will…This time Terumi, I-"_ As Alex's thoughts were shrouded in a fog of vengeance, he was suddenly perturbed by a gruesome sensation pulsing through the entire building. It was as though the gravity had been tripled, and both the boy and the Grim Reaper found their legs having the urge to cave-in on the spot.

"G-Guh…! This is…bloodlust? What the hell…I've never felt anything like this before…!" Ragna buckled forward and curled a hand before his chest, which was tightening up around his heart. Alex's own muscles stiffened for a moment, but he didn't find himself too fazed by the overwhelming pressure of bloodlust.

"…This isn't Terumi." The boy mumbled, and Ragna turned his head aside and exclaimed, "No shit! Then what the hell's going on here?!"

His jaw would soon lock up and leave him silent as the sound of footsteps entered their ears. A person could be seen walking down the right staircase, the first thing visible being a pair of pure white trousers, the left side being covered by half an overall draped from a belt.

"… _Son of a bitch, it can't be."_ Alex had a little more reason to be concerned as the person revealed his entire presence from behind the cover of the nearby statues. The pants belonged to a tall, grizzly man with even more visible muscles than even Tager and Bang combined. He flaunted those muscles off by keeping his white trench coat unbuttoned, and a series of large tattoos covered most of his tanned skin. Once at the bottom of the stairs, the man tucked his beefy hands into his pockets and turned his head aside, grinning like he was some sort of hyena. His long, dark blue hair was spread wildly across his face and back, and came complete with a goatee and blood red eyes.

"Perfect. So this is where my prey's been hiding." His voice showed an absurd degree of confidence and anticipation, and as the man turned he flexed his elbow muscles and released audible bone cracks.

Ragna froze up and stared at the man as he walked around the statues and stood before the tree, the usually pacifistic blue radiance somehow increasing the depths of his projected ferocity. The man pulled his right hand out and gestured it out, unable to contain his joy as he began laughing.

"Wonderful! The Grim Reaper…and the Phoenix of Destruction! Hahaha! This battle of ours will be like no other!" Upon his words, the man was bathed in a violet-red aura that looked like it was seeping out from the pores in his skin.

"… _So that's what's going on…"_ Alex bemoaned in his mind, finding himself a rather unsurprised by his title being mentioned. He quickly put a couple fingers on the side of his head and got in contact with Kokonoe.

"Hey Kokonoe, you're not going to believe this but…We've run into an unexpected problem."

" _What? What's going on."_

"SOMEONE let the Mad Dog Azrael out of his cage."

" _WHAT?! How the HELL?! Did those old bastards at Sector Seven lose their goddamn minds?!"_

"I don't think they're responsible. I may not know their identity, but I have a pretty good idea who is…"

"The…Mad Dog?! Son of a bitch, no wonder I'm sensing all this bloodlust…" Ragna growled a mixture of anger and fear as he pulled his sword from the sheath and pointed it at Azrael.

The man raised his brows a little and noted, "So, Kokonoe's listening in, is she? Tell her when I'm done, I'm coming to tear her apart next!"

" _Shit! Who cares how he got there! This isn't an opponent you can defeat! He's more powerful than Terumi! Just get out of there and I'll come up with something to seal the bast-"_

"Out of the question, Kokonoe." Alex pulls his fingers away from his head and glared straight at Azrael, the two recognizing the other's lack of hesitation to fight.

"Oh? So you want to fight, do you now, Phoenix of Destruction?"

" _Are. You. INSANE?! This isn't the time to be pussy-footing around with that monster!"_

Alex grinned as wide as his face, then thrust a pointer finger straight at the Mad Dog, "I should be thanking the bastard who let you out! You're just one more evil in this world who needs to be put down for good, Azrael!"

"Good? Evil? Ha! Who gives a damn about any of that nonsense?!" Azrael flexed his muscles, bulging them out from the expanse of his body as he looked utterly excited, "The joy of battle! The carnage born of tearing one another apart for all eternity…! How can you not be delighted to relish in such carnal pleasures, Phoenix of Destruction?!"

The boy swung his arms beside his body and turned to get into a battle pose, "Ragna! Get ready to fight! If this Mad Dog wants to bark and get in our way, then we'll just have to put him down!"

 _Next Time: The Tyrant_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: The Hungered Beast**

Facing down the sheer, raw power of the Mad Dog Azrael, Alex showed not even a hint of fear across his entire being. Ragna had little fear inside of him as well, but that was more due to his raging overconfidence than anything else. The Grim Reaper drew his sword and swung it out beside himself in the grasp of both his hands.

"I don't have time for you, Mad Dog! Get out of our way!" Ragna started off charging right at Azrael, causing Alex to shift his glare over to him in a swift panic and exclaim his name to try and call him back. Yet Ragna did not hesitate even as Azrael stood still and smirked his way.

Leaping into the air, Ragna covered his blade in darkness and brought it down with the speed of a plummeting guillotine. Azrael thrust his right pinky finger up, not a single other inch of his body budging, and blocked the sword with minimal effort. The darkness scattered, and Ragna's blade rattled trying to overpower Azrael's defenses.

The Mad Dog grinned and glared up past the circumference of his fist in an attempt to intimidate his foe. Ragna pressed his weapon down for a few seconds, then parted it with enough force to push himself back and land on the ground. Azrael flexed his right fingers twice then tightened them into a fist, throwing a hard punch into the empty air.

Then a tremulous gale erupted throughout the lobby, as though a tornado had swept through it, and Ragna ended up taking an invisible punch to his chest a moment later. Already, the Grim Reaper found himself at least a tiny bit winded, yet wasn't the least bit dissuaded from trying to attack again. He swung his blade forward in one hand and said, "Goddamn it, you really are a monster!"

"Hahaha! Don't be so modest, _Grim Reaper_ ," Azrael spread his fingers out to make a cup-like shape before his chest as his body radiated with his raw power, "We're BOTH monsters! We were born only to _rip_ and **TEAR** into each other for all eternity! So come on, _let the carnage BEGIN!_ "

"With PLEASURE, Mad Dog!" Ragna was a mere second away from assaulting his foe when Alex yelled out, "That's enough Ragna!"

He managed to get his and Azrael's attention with that declaration, and both of them noticed that the boy was still in the same pose as before. Ragna gave him a nasty glare of confusion and exclaimed, "Hey asshole, you gonna fight or are you just gonna stand there and watch me get thrown around like a rag doll?!"

"Preferably, I'd like us BOTH to not get thrown around like that. We still have to fight Terumi, remember?" The boy pointed out.

Azrael tucked his hands into his pockets and gave the boy an unenthused glare before saying, "You've got to be kidding me."

He swung his hands out an inch beside his hips and wiggled his fingers inward as though to taunt his opponents, "That witch said the Phoenix of Destruction would be worthy prey, and yet you have the gall to try holding back on me?"

"I think you're overestimating your worth Azrael…" Alex stated in a put-off tone, yet his attitude towards the Mad Dog only got him chuckling in excitement.

"Really now? Is this attitude born from confidence, or _fear_?" Azrael oozed with excitement even as he taunted the boy in such a gravely manner, "It doesn't matter. I'll **force** you to go all-out!"

Azrael suddenly bounded across the air with the speed of a rabbit and coiled his legs back ready to pounce upon Alex. The boy widened his eyes and leaped back before he was struck, yet the Mad Dog's strike was so ground-breaking that it sent a wall of stone up in front of him that pounded Alex right in the gut.

With the boy winded, Azrael threw his right hand up and smashed through the wall to grab him by the neck. Then he spun around in a single, strainless jerk, and pile-drove the boy into the floor. He then let go as Ragna went in for a downward slash at the side of his body, needing to step only a foot back to avoid it.

"Heh…!" Azrael cracked a smirk as he stared into Ragna's blistering, primal gaze, then threw a lazy but powerful punch towards his face. Ragna planted his feet in the ground and twisted his body to swing his blade in the path of the man's bare knuckles. The moment the punch connected, Azrael pulled it right back while the Grim Reaper was dragged back until the heels of his feet touched the bottom of Alex's shoes.

The Mad Dog then followed up by swinging his head forward as though bringing down a gavel, hitting Ragna's blade square in the center with his forehead. A resounding crack similar to the sound of breaking bones echoed out before Ragna lost his footing and was thrown over Alex's body, a sharp pain in his wrists crippling his ability to react further for the moment.

Azrael prepared to leap forward again, but was midway through when Alex planted his hands down and shunted his legs straight into the air to kick the Mad Dog in the gut. He had to put most of his strength into that kick just to stall the man from that precarious position, and even though he succeeded the muscles in his lower legs were quivering like gelatin after.

Azrael landed back a couple inches away from the boy as he himself got up, rubbing the front of his chest as the muscles throbbed a little. When the soreness subsided, Alex stared up into Azrael's face and saw him grinning.

" _I'll wipe that smug look off your face soon enough, Mad Dog…"_ The boy took whatever moments Azrael presented to scan the monster's body, hoping to find something resembling a weakness. However, that proved more difficult than expected. The man's body was the pinnacle of what humanity could accomplish. Raw, overwhelming power packed into a body more sturdy than the strongest tank. His technique, even as rough and wild as it was, did not display a single flaw.

" _But it doesn't matter how powerful you are Azrael. Your body is still as flesh and blood as the rest us!"_ Alex stabbed his right hand up and summoned his sword into his grasp. Azrael pulled back on his body and ended up covering ten feet of floor in a single instant to dodge the attack. Alex froze in place for a second then spun his blade around his hand twice, holding it behind his back while raising a hand towards the Mad Dog.

"So, you finally draw your sword. Hehehe, you better hope that tiny thing won't snap like a twig!" Azrael proclaimed as he slammed his hands together and swiveled his neck to crack the bones. The boy then raised his brows, the sounds the man made bringing forth a stroke of inspiration.

" _Wait a sec…That's it!"_ He then firmed his stance and exclaimed, "Ragna!"

The Grim Reaper had pulled himself up by now, taking a moment to grip the sore muscles in his right arm, "This guy's a monster…You better have a plan to take him down!"

"I do! But it's going to take some time. Whatever you do, **don't** activate the Azure!" His warning to Ragna elicited a sharp outcry of disbelief, "You've got to be shittin' me!"

"Why are you trying to keep this battle restrained, Phoenix of Destruction?" Azrael gestured a hand out towards the boy while giving him a wild but curious glare, "Come on…Isn't it in your nature to enjoy the pleasures of battle? Let loose, enjoy yourself! Become the beast you are meant to be!"

"Give me a break, beef for brains…" Alex groaned and shook his head with a hand's worth of fingers spread across his forehead.

"I'm not going to satiate your hunger. In fact, the only thing that'll be fed will be the vultures that'll gnaw on your rotting corpse!"

"Hahaha! That's a laugh! I…WILL NEVER DIE!" Azrael threw himself across the room until he was right before Alex with his eyes wide with ecstasy and his right fist coiled back behind his head. His movements tore up the ground like a charging elephant would, and the mere act of him pulling his fist shook the building. Alex stood his ground and focused not on the man's frenzied glare, but rather the left side of the man's chest.

He threw his left fist out while swerving his head out of the way of Azrael's punch, striking the Mad Dog right in the chest with all he has. A shockwave erupted through the lobby, shattering the red lights above and forcing Ragna to hold his ground before he was swept up like a leaf in a hurricane.

Meanwhile, inside of Kagura's office, Hibiki and Terumi are experiencing the aftershocks of the battle going on. Hibiki had to grab onto a bookshelf to avoid falling, but Terumi just stood as though his feet were covered in concrete and played the whole thing off coolly.

"Oh? Are we under attack?"

Hibiki pulled himself away from the wall when he was certain the tremors would subside for a bit, curious as to why this was happening. First though, he looked back at Terumi and said, "It might be an earthquake."

A booming explosion went off in the distance, causing Hibiki to grimace for just a second. Terumi raised his brows just a little and commented with faked obliviousness, "I had no idea earthquakes could be so… _explosive._ "

"A gasline may have been hit. I should go check on it. Wait here for now." Hibiki motioned towards the man as he went for the door, but as he raised his hand to the knob a snake-headed chain lashed out and struck the back of it. Hibiki spun around and glared at Terumi, who had opened his eyes and kept Ouroboros moving around his body in the shape of a ring.

"Do you take me for an idiot?" Terumi's tone took upon his unrelenting harshness as though it was always there, and he took great pleasure in calling out Hibiki's behavior, "I **know** you're working with that cheeky brat to try and trap me. Pity for him that this is _exactly_ what I wanted to happen!"

Hibiki wasted little time in parting his jacket down the middle with a shrug of the shoulders, revealing two extendable, segmented blades tucked into his pants. He whipped them out into his grasp and gestured them both at Terumi, holding them in different directions. His gaze turned malicious and piercing, devoid of any fear.

"Hahaha! You're seriously going to fight me?! Are you stupid or what?!" Terumi roared with rancorous laughter, tears almost forming in his eyes.

"I'm not going to fight you, Yuuki Terumi. For Lord Kagura's dreams, I will **kill** you." As Hibiki spoke with no hesitation, a shadow crept out from his feet until it was behind Terumi. The Hibiki in front of him vanished in a puff of shadows as the real one jumped out and stabbed both his blades at the man's neck.

Terumi spun around and used the chain of Ouroboros to push the blades away, then kicked Hibiki in the gut to push him back. Then, with a lifeless flick of the wrist Terumi called the chain back into his sleeve.

"See, as much as I'd **looooove** to make you scream, I'd rather be empty before I encounter our little Phoenix of Destruction again." Terumi began to stroll over to the nearby guest chair, with Hibiki pointing one of his blades at him and declaring, "There's nowhere to run, Terumi. You're trapped, and there's no escape!"

"Ah, yes, but there's just one teeny TINY little problem with your plan there champ…" As Terumi flicked his left hand up and waggled his pointer finger as if he was reprimanding a child, he then twisted his head to look at the window and grinned from ear-to-ear as a shadow dropped in front of it.

" **You** are ALSO trapped inside with **us!** "

The window shattered apart, the shards of glass flying out and bouncing off of Hibiki's back. He spun around, but found his legs turning as stiff as fresh wood as he faced the newcomer. Bathed in an eerie shadow formed by the sunlight was the Murakumo Unit known as Nu, her body now completely restored as her gaze was fixated upon the poor Captain.

Nu's hands were bloodied, the tatters of countless NOL uniforms stuck to her form, with bits of flesh dripping off the steel blades floating around her back.

"Insurgent forces have been eliminated…Proceeding to advance upon target Captain Hibiki Kohaku of the Yabiko branch…" Her voice had not lost it's cold, calculating nature, and it's existence sent a chill down Hibiki's spine. The Captain looked over his shoulder, finding Terumi relaxing on the chair with legs crossed and elbows planted atop the highest knee.

"This IS entirely your fault, you know. See, you brought knives… **I** brought a Sword!" Terumi raised his right hand as far as it'd go above his head, pressing two fingers together while staring at Nu with eyes open halfway.

"Number 13, let this traitor be your appetizer! Feast upon his flesh and bone as only the Sword of Izanami can!" He then snapped his fingers, and the light in Nu's eyes flashed bright to signal her recognition of the commands.

"Acknowledged…Proceeding to eliminate the target." Nu pointed her blades down at Hibiki, whose stance began to show weakness even as he gripped his blades tighter than before.

Back in the lobby, the battle against Azrael began to have it's effect on the setting. A couple statues surrounding the tree were broken off from the chest up, the floor had looked as though it had been churned in a blender. After trying to attack Azrael, Alex ate a punch to the forehead and was knocked to the ground, his head digging a trench into the dirt.

Ragna took the lead with a valiant charged with his sword drawn back in his left hand, which he slammed down into Azrael's held-out right palm. He then spun around and dragged his blade against the ground to launch his Carnage Scissors attack at Azrael. The man was dragged back a couple inches from the impact and got maybe a couple cuts in his clothes, leaving him ready to slam his forehead into Ragna's own right after.

The Grim Reaper buckled his feet against the ground and slammed his forehead in as well, with only his blood dripping out from the impact. Azrael grit his teeth and dug his hands into his pockets, pressing on with a gnashing smile and excited glare.

"Come on, Grim Reaper, is that all you've got?!"

"Not even close!" Ragna roared with all his might as he grabbed his sword in both hands and swung it up from the ground, bringing with him a large, lashing wave of blood and darkness that swept over Azrael's body and managed to knock him back a good foot. Refusing to relent, Ragna then swung his blade over his head and attached a spiked curve of darkness to it.

"This'll sting!" He exclaimed before bringing it down towards Azrael's head. The Mad Dog stood right up and thrust his right arm up at the blade to block it, followed by him raising his right foot up and kicking Ragna in the gut. The Grim Reaper curled over as his support could no longer hold for the moment.

Azrael pulled his right fist back and it surged with his raw power, with him poised to strike Ragna right in the face. However, his attack was stalled when he heard the ground ripping up behind him, and a moment he found the roots of the tree wrapping themselves around every last one of his limbs.

The roots had gone wild, having grown thick and harder than steel, all thanks to Alex exerting immense control over them. The boy held his hands out and gripped the fingers into his palm tightly, making sure to have the roots fully embracing Azrael's limbs before working them towards his chest and abs.

Cracking was heard, but it came from the bark of the roots struggling to keep Azrael bound. The Mad Dog looked at his bindings and broke into jolly laughter, then focused his glare on the boy and halted his laugh the moment he thrust his fists forward. The iron grip of the roots were broken as though they were as flimsy as string, and with just that single tug Azrael uprooted the tree and sent it flying over his head towards Alex.

The boy left his arms limp for a moment before swinging the right one up with sword drawn in a blink of the eye, slicing through the tree and letting both halves crash to the ground at his sides, where they tumbled and cracked apart at the door. Azrael crossed the gap between himself and the boy in a single motion and brought his right knee into his chin.

Sparks flew out from the impact as Alex took the second he had to coat that part of his skin in a thin layer of diamond. He then bit down on his teeth and kept the Mad Dog in a standstill while Ragna charged the man from behind and summoned a claw of darkness bigger than his foe. Azrael only got a moment to glance over his shoulder before Ragna had him locked in his grasp, pulling him away from Alex and spinning him around until he could slam him to the ground.

Ragna spread the darkness around Azrael's body to hold him down, but the Mad Dog started laughing once more before flexing his muscles to exude so much power that it parted the darkness and gave him enough freedom to push himself back onto his feet with a single hand. Azrael turned around and watched as Ragna pooled the darkness into his sword and swung it back, the way it was positioned clearly indicating an attack aimed at the neck.

Azrael pulled back on his body and began to radiate with a blood red aura, which left afterimages of his form in his wake. He left only his pointer and middle fingers out on each hand, holding the right one out towards Ragna. When the Grim Reaper's blade was but a centimeter from his face, Azrael twisted his body forward, putting his other leg out as he jabbed the left fingers into Ragna's chest.

The Grim Reaper was left immobile by the severity of the blow, which erupted forth a blast of pure energy from his backside. Azrael left no room for holding back, and immediately took his other hand forward and struck the same spot with his open palm. The energy condensed and burst forth from Ragna's back in the form of a blistering white beam. The Grim Reaper's body trembled as though left in the middle of a magnitude ten earthquake, and after spitting forth a good chunk of blood from his mouth he couldn't prevent himself from collapsing towards the ground.

He was not dead, but his body was rendered incapable of moving for a bit of time. Azrael applied the side of his right shoe to back of Ragna's head in a firm kick to knock him aside, then applied his focus towards Alex.

"I'll enjoy feasting on the Grim Reaper again in a bit. Now…why don't you show me what you've got, Phoenix of Destruction?!" Azrael waved his arms up, keeping his body wide-open for whatever manner of attack Alex wanted to perform on him.

Alex lowered his brows in an unenthused glare and told him, "I don't think you realize how little I give a shit, Mad Dog."

He then shrugged and sighed, putting his sword away and thrust the empty hand up to send a violent bolt of lightning at Azrael. Though the lightning was capable of shaking the building, the Mad Dog only had to swing his right palm up to stop it, but his skin was left singed after. Then, Ragna came in swinging from the side, managing to deliver a hard slice to Azrael's arm and draw blood from it.

The Mad Dog glanced at the side and was as surprised to see the Grim Reaper standing as Alex was, but his focus soon went to the open cut on his arm. He turned his arm around a bit then flexed the arm muscles by tightening his fist, punching Ragna aside with the back of it to send him flying across the room. Thanks to his attack though, Alex was able to cross the gap in a millisecond and punch Azrael square in the chest, hitting the same spot he has a couple times already.

He dug his knuckles in and twisted, unable to budge the skin, and making Azrael crack a dry chuckle at his efforts before he threw a right hook into Alex's gut to push him back a couple feet. Azrael then pulled back on his body while the boy was winded, his body exuding with so much power that his aura turned to actual flames. He bent his head down until the chin was behind his right elbow with his left arm stretched up and back as far as his bones would allow.

He charged his power until his body couldn't hold it anymore, then shot forward faster than any bullet, but with greater force than any rocket could produce. His fist smashed into Alex's gut and left a bloody crescent in the air, the Mad Dog's own scar on reality, all while proclaiming, "I'LL **MAKE** YOU GO ALL-OUT!"

A large shockwave ruptured itself through Alex's body, forcing blood and stomach acid up through his mouth and leaving his muscles flayed like raw gelatin. He was launched back towards the door, slamming through the center of them with enough force to get them unhinged. The boy forced himself to fight back against the pain, even as it left him with a strenuous headache, and pushed his body to stall in mid-air above the staircase.

He threw his right fist up, his bones cracking from fighting the pressure, and pushed the doors to his side while twisting them down into thick, winding spears that he flung straight at Azrael. The Mad Dog threw his hands up and plucked them out of the sky, snapping them in two in the middle without blood being drawn from his palms.

Alex then swung his arms up at his sides and charged spheres of flame before the palms. He connected the flames into a larger, condensed sphere before his chest and pointed it towards the door. Azrael basked in the crimson light with a grin and swung his hands up over his head, taunting Alex with a boisterous roar, "That's it…HIT ME WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!"

The boy fired a massive beam of flame that squeezed through the edges of the doorframe and blazed it's way towards Azrael, with Ragna pulling back before he was swept up in the inferno. Without breaking a sweat, Azrael increased the intensity of his aura until it waved out of his body and met the flames head-on. At that point the flames didn't meet a wall so much as they were swallowed up in a void of raw power.

But for Alex, such a powerful attack served only as a distraction to keep Azrael wide-open, and he launched himself through the center of his own beam to smash the Mad Dog in the chest. He managed to drag him back three feet through the ground, digging his knuckles into the skin and twisting them. The skin budged just a tiny bit before Alex pulled back and skid away from Azrael, who tucked his hands down into his pockets and looked unenthused.

"This can't seriously be the best you've got. I was expecting DESTRUCTION, yet nothing you've done could even knock down a straw house let alone quench my hunger!" Azrael gestured his right hand out in a lax manner and left his jaw in a bit of a bored slack.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you're barely worth my time, Mad Dog?!" Alex blurted out with annoyed frustration.

"Oh? So that's how that is, is it?" Azrael found himself grinning and stretching his arms out, digging his feet into the ground as his aura began to erupt around him.

"You just aren't motivated enough to fight at your full power!" The building trembled with increasing intensity, as Azrael's already overwhelming strength began to grow, the tattoos on his body glowing bright as the bottommost ones began to burn off his skin.

"ENCHANT DRAGUNOV…LEVEL 2!" Releasing that limiter caused a powerful shockwave to be thrown out, which pushed Alex back and almost knocked Ragna onto his back. Any remaining lights in the room were shattered, and the illumination after came from Azrael's blood-red aura.

He stood in place, all focus forced upon him, and radiated with ungodly power. Ragna's teeth were clattering as he stared at him, and without a second thought he swung his right hand up and declared, "To hell with this! Restriction 666 re-"

"Ragna! Don't! You HAVE to save that for Terumi!" Alex exclaimed, a tone devoid of all fear. The Grim Reaper turned to him and said, "We're not even going to SEE him if we keep this up!"

"I said…" Alex swung his fists at his hips and set them on fire, revealing an unshaken look of confidence in his eyes towards the Mad Dog, "I've got a plan."

He then stepped forward and threw a left hook followed by a right hook in rapid succession to the same spot in Azrael's chest he'd be hitting all this time. The Mad Dog stood there and looked down, even as Alex beat his chest a few more times to no avail.

"Are you kidding me? This is starting to get boring…" His tone was that of a man on the verge of yawning, and he raised his right hand up and curled a finger into his palm to point at Alex's forehead.

"Maybe you'll get the hint this time, Phoenix of Destruction!" Before Azrael flicked his finger out, the boy parted his left hand from the assault and wrestled his grip around the Mad Dog's wrist to push the arm away. He then stopped and caught his breath, the flames flickering out from his right hand.

"You're the one who needs to get it, Mad Dog…" Alex tightened his right hand into a fist and pulled it back, giving the man's face not a hint of acknowledgment. His punch was lined up with the same spot in Azrael's chest, and all his strength was poured into that fist.

"You're nothing more than a wall in my path. And no matter how tough that wall may be, I will always…BREAK THROUGH IT!" He threw his punch forward with the speed of a bullet and plowed it into the surface of Azrael's chest. But this time would be different from the all the rest. With the brittleness of crackers, Azrael's chest caved inward from the strength of Alex's punch, and the boy then slipped his hand between the man's ribs and grabbed onto his heart.

"GHHHHHH…! GAAAAAAAH! W-What the hell is this…feeling?!" Azrael suddenly roared out of sheer shock and agony, which forced his attention onto Alex's cold, uncaring expression with a look of raw anger.

"It doesn't matter how powerful you become Azrael. You will always be constrained to the biological limits of your own body," Alex closed his eyes and began squeezing on Azrael's beating heart, "Did you know that your skin is composed of dozens of minerals, like Calcium and Iron? Minerals like those fall under the domain of my 'Earth' element, so while you were busy being a muscle-head, I kept stealing the mineral composition of your skin with every punch I threw until your defenses were as thin as a sheet of paper."

"You…coward! Our battle is supposed to last for all eternity! I REFUSE to let you get away with this!" Azrael roared, mad with his own growing sensation of fear. He struggled against Alex's grip while beginning to move his other arm towards his head.

"…Too bad. Your eternal battle ends here. Die, Mad Dog Azrael." Without a hint of hesitation or remorse, Alex squeezed Azrael's heart and made it burst within his chest. Azrael's movements stopped as blood shot out from the hole in his chest and leaked down onto his abdominal region. Alex pulled his blood-drenched arm out and swung it aside, turning and walking away from the Mad Dog.

Then, beyond all possible expectations, Azrael's body twitched, making Alex's body give pause.

"Enchant…Dragunov…LEVEL 4!" Azrael screamed back to life, his body erupting with an unfathomable amount of power. It was beyond Hakumen, beyond the empowered Nu, and perhaps even beyond the Black Beast itself. Azrael's power affected the fabric of reality itself, making it look as though it was affected by a massive heat wave. Alex turned around and his heart almost stopped as he gazed upon what remained of the Mad Dog.

There were no visible human features to be discerned. Just a titanic mass of blood, fire and pure rage stood before him. With a demon's roar, Azrael was prepared for one final charge, and Alex stood there unable to move.

Yet, he did not even get to take a step. His body collapsed, falling down to the right of Alex with a pool of blood forming underneath. Just to make sure he would never move again, the boy turned his head to look down at him. There was no breathing, no movements. Now, where many else had failed, Alex had managed to put down the Mad Dog Azrael.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the boy washed the blood off his arm with water and then flicked his wrist to dry it off, then raised a hand to his head, "Hey Kokonoe. Azrael's dead. You're welcome."

There was no response from the other line, not even static. The boy turned his head to the right, then realized she must already be fighting her battle. With a shrug of the shoulders, he walked over to Ragna, who was stiffly staring his way while kneeled down.

"I…am REALLY glad you're on our side." He said in a relieved tone.

"Same." Alex replied all nonchalant as he held his hand out to help Ragna up. The Grim Reaper, however, managed just fine on his own and sheathed his blade. With eyes closed, he commented, "Well this was all fine and dandy…But don't you think Terumi will have noticed the commotion?"

"Yeah. I'm really worried about Hibiki's safety. We need to hurry." Alex didn't waste anymore time, and with a nod of agreement from Ragna the two hurried their way towards the entrance of the HQ to confront Terumi once-and-for-all…

 _Next Time: For a Friend_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Memories of Tears**

In another sector of Yabiko, there exists a small Coliseum where combat tournaments are occasionally held. It's built out of spare junk of various materials, such as metal and wood, but has no rafters for support. There were two inactive TV screens above the edges of the arena, and two open gates where the fighters would normally emerge from.

For the time being, the Coliseum was inhabited only by those involved in the plan. Noel, Makoto and Jin hid behind the far right gate labeled 'Dragon', Shina and the four of the Six Heroes were concealed in the shadows of the bleachers, and Kagura stood in the very center of the arena itself with his back leaned against a giant black rectangular broadsword.

"Focus Kagura…You can do this…" Kagura tried to stay relaxed, and closed his eyes to deprive himself of any distracting sights around him. He had to stand and wait for Tsubaki Yayoi to appear, but had no idea just when that would be even though he had just heard that his men were escorting her.

After a bit of time concentrating on motivating himself, he looked around to see what his allies were up to. Shina had a large, clunky helmet on and was struggling to keep her balance, while the Six Heroes were sitting or standing silently waiting for their time to move. Behind the 'Dragon' gate, Jin had secluded himself off away from Noel and Makoto, who were sitting beside each other on a bench.

Kagura wanted to go over and comfort Noel, at the very least, but knew that doing so risks blowing his cover early. He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and faced the 'Tiger' gate in front of him, by then receiving a message from his subordinates.

" _Lord Kagura sir! Tsubaki Yayoi has entered the premises! Shall I open the 'Tiger' gate for her?"_

"Go right ahead. Tell her I'm waiting in the center of the arena." Kagura lowered his fingers from the side of his head and breathed in one, final sigh. All his preparations for today didn't feel nearly good enough, especially in regards to Hibiki's own safety. He had full faith in his Captain's competency, but Terumi was an opponent that could make even the most competent of people come across as utter fools.

"…I can't lose focus. There's too much on the line for me to screw up." Through sheer force of will, Kagura made himself ignore all his present concerns in order to put on his more confident and lax demeanor. Just in time too, as his company was entering the arena through the open gate.

Tsubaki was a young woman with long red hair tucked under a black hat that had a single red eye on the front and a pair of small black feathery wings. She wore a brown-black shaded Japanese-style military outfit complete with boots and a flourishing cape. Tsubaki's skin was fair, her body shape and height was average for a woman her age, and she didn't seem unhealthy. Though a simple look into her red eyes, and one could discern that something was wrong.

Tsubaki stayed still about five feet away from Kagura and gazed around the room. Noel, Makoto and Jin slid behind what little cover the doorframe could provide, while Shina and the Six Heroes were secure enough hiding in the shadows. With a gentle squint, Tsubaki faced Kagura and addressed him with a rough politeness.

"It's been a long time, Colonel Mutsuki."

"Likewise. Hasn't been since the Academy days, right?" Kagura winked at her and crossed his arms, "Heard you got promoted to Major recently. Same rank as good ol' Jinny."

"Please, Colonel, I would appreciate it if you refrain from mentioning the traitors. We're here to discuss the Grim Reaper, Ragna the Bloodedge." Tsubaki stayed firm on-topic, having not a hint of interest towards the splendors of reminiscence. She turned her head a tiny bit to the right and glanced upon Kagura's sword.

"Though I wonder why you brought your sword to this meeting, Colonel Mutsuki."

"Hey, can't risk the possibility of the Grim Reaper ambushing us unprepared, right? It's why I setup the meeting here. Otherwise, I would've taken you out to a fancy resta-"

"Do not waste my time, Colonel. The Grim Reaper is to be executed as soon as possible under the orders of our excellence, the Imperator herself." She closed her eyes, her body tense and tone stern and unflinching. Kagura then relaxed into a more natural state of being and sighed.

"Right…Doesn't look good on my record to impede the Wings of Judgment," Kagura stood himself perfectly upright and moved away from his sword, "Couple of my guys caught sightings of Ragna the Bloodedge moving through Yabiko."

"Are you sure it was him?" Tsubaki inquired with pressing suspicion. Kagura gave a short nod then reached into his uniform, pulling out a small camera and holding it before his chest for a moment. He pretended to turn it on with a finger tap up top, but the screen already showed a snapshot of Ragna sitting on a bench outside of the Yabiko HQ. It was taken just a moment ago, and thanks to a little help from Kokonoe the date the picture was taken was changed to two days ago.

Kagura made certain everything was accounted for in the span of a second, then handed the camera off to Tsubaki. She took it without hesitation and held it before her face, her gaze becoming one of pure indignation as she growled out, "Ragna the Bloodedge…!"

Her grip tightened around the side of the camera, causing it to creak and groan. Kagura swiped the camera out of her hand and said, "Lets not break my stuff now."

"Why hasn't he attacked this branch yet?" She inquired with a lot more forcefulness than before.

"He must have found out about our increased security. I imagine he's scouting the area before he charges in."

"Then you must increase your security even more! We can't let Ragna the Bloodedge escape!" Tsubaki's passionate fury came into full effect, the mere sight of the Grim Reaper having set her off to an unsettling degree.

"Easy there Tsubaki. We'll deal with him in due time." Kagura remained calm, though was a little surprised to see her in such a huff.

"There's no time to waste! All who obstruct justice must be made to pay for their sins!" Tsubaki's mentality was on a single-track with no hopes of being derailed, yet that was exactly the opportunity that Kagura was waiting for. With the speed of a cheetah he raised a pair of fingers to the side of his face to touch the communicator.

"Men! Seal the gate, now!" He declared, and without a second passing the 'Tiger' gate slammed to the ground and threw Tsubaki entirely off-guard. She spun around and stared at the gate with an agape gasp, then went right back to looking at Kagura, her face flaring up with a scowl and hardened glare.

"What is the meaning of this, Colonel Mutsuki?!"

"Sorry to do this to you, Tsubaki…" Kagura closed his eyes and elbowed the broad side of his sword to kick it off the ground, where he swung around as the gate behind him opened and he snatched the handle of his sword in his left hand, holding it backwards.

"But the one who needs to pay for their sins is the Imperator, so that means we'll have to rough you up a little." As he made his intentions clear, Kagura was joined by Noel and Makoto, who came rushing to his side. Their presence left Tsubaki staring back and forth at them, alternating between rage and shock.

"Noel…!" She growled, followed by a remark of sorrowful disappointment, "Makoto…"

The twisted torment of emotions in her mind would only grow worse as Jin walked out from behind Makoto and stopped directly to the right of Tsubaki's line of sight. She froze up, eyes trembling, and muttered out the man's name as though on the verge of crying. But then her eyes flashed, returning her expression to that of pure infuriation, and she spun her head around with her mouth wide as could be so she could lash out at her aggressors.

"So it's treason, is it?!" She swung her left arm out, summoning a shield shaped like a half-circle shaped tome, complete with it's own red eye at the side. Then, from that tome she pulled out an orange short-spear that was the length of her arm, brandishing it at Kagura.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Colonel Mutsuki! How could you possibly even consider raising arms against the her excellence?!"

"Hmmm, considering her involvement in the Ikaruga Civil War, I really shouldn't need any other reasons but…" Kagura stood upright and placed a fist against his chest, "I also can't just ignore when a lady's heart is crying for help."

"Tsubaki, please…This isn't like you!" Noel cried out with all her heart, but was unable to penetrate the cold, bitter exterior her best friend had taken up.

"Silence, Noel Vermillion! You…are my enemy!" Tsubaki bit her teeth down, leaving Noel flinching as though her very heart had already been stabbed.

"She's not gonna listen to you Noellers, not while she's under that monster's control!" Makoto declared while throwing off her jacket, revealing a pair of cross-shaped tonfas attached around the wrists, one of which she punched towards Tsubaki.

"But if there **IS** any part of my best friend listening, then hold on, we're coming to save ya!"

"I do not need to be saved! It is you, who have fallen off the path of justice, who must be saved!" Tsubaki then turned her head to Jin, who did not have his eyes open and kept his hands away from his blade.

"Even you…Major Kisaragi!" She swung her blade up, but it shook in her hand for a couple seconds. Jin opened his eyes and let out a cold 'Hmph' before reaching for the handle of Yukianesa and grasping it tight.

"If that is your decision, Tsubaki, then I will deny your judgment," He drew the icy blade and pointed it at Tsubaki's feet, "And make you understand the error of your ways."

"So long as I stand for the Novus Orvis Librarium, I know my path is true. My conviction to this cause is what gives me strength, and with it I can defeat even all of you at once!"

"How far do you intend to push yourself, Tsubaki?" Jin inquired, a hint of concern in his tone, "You **will** die if you take this fight too far."

"M-Major…!" Noel blurted out in utter shock.

"Is this concern for an enemy? Or an attempt to dissuade me?" Tsubaki inquired. Jin closed his eyes, stayed still, and gently shook his head.

"I simply have no intention of breaking our promise, Tsubaki."

Tsubaki's body froze and was riddled with shivers, causing her to stand up and lay a hand across the left side of her face. Her expression became distraught, the eyes looking as though she was inflicted with insomnia.

"A-A pro…mise?" She was strained just to remember what Jin had mentioned, causing her to take a few seconds before murmuring, "If you break a promise…stick a needle in my eye…Jin…Ah…!"

Her body squirmed in pain as she let out a moan, and Jin widened his eyes while grimacing. But the glimpse of the old Tsubaki would last for but a fleeting moment, as she pulled her hand away and pointed her blade back at Jin.

"D-Don't think you can…dissuade me! W-With the Sealed Weapon: Izayoi…I CAN defeat any who stand in the way of order!"

"What the Imper-"

"That's enough, Colonel Mutsuki." Jin halted the man's words, and placed Yukianesa back into it's sheath. He kept a hand held close to it and shifted his body to the side.

"She has made her conviction clear. All we can do now is fight. Lieutenant Nanaya, Lieutenant Vermillion…" Those two were quite shocked to hear him properly addressing them, and stood to attention as he stated bluntly, "Do not hesitate."

"We won't, Major!" They declared, while Kagura grinned and looked rather impressed by Jin's remark. Tsubaki, faced with the determination of all around her, swung her shield before her chest and opened it up to reveal a series of pages inside. She opened to the center of the tome and focused on the text on it. Her body was enveloped in a pinkish light as she crossed her hands before her chest in prayer and levitated off the ground.

Then, as the spell finished casting, she put the shield back onto her arm and kept the aura around her body. She then pointed her blade at the others and declared, "In the name of my family, I WILL defeat you all!"

Up in the bleachers, the Six Heroes took observation over the ensuing battle. Platinum, without their heart-shaped pupils, was currently being controlled by Trinity, and she spoke up first, "The Sealed Weapon Izayoi…It has been a long time since I've seen it in action."

"Ah yes. It was wielded by one of the Yayoi ancestors during the Dark War, was it not?" Valkenhayn remarked with a hint of reminiscence, causing Platinum's eyes to close in contemplation.

"Yes…I forget her name…"

"Ayame." Hakumen was the one to answer, a remark he did not make lightly.

"O-Oh right…That was her name. Come to think of it, this girl looks quite similar to her, doesn't she?" When Trinity noted that, Hakumen crossed his arms and looked towards the battle unfolding, focusing on Jin as he holds his blade behind his back to deflect a spear swipe from Tsubaki.

After Tsubaki's forced to leap away from an Optic Barrel attack from Noel's Bolverk, Jubei remarked, "Hope I taught Jin enough. He'll need the Power of Order if he stands any chance of saving the lass."

"Ooooh, I just hope Noel and Makoto succeed…" Shina muttered, tempted to poke the helmet up just enough to get a better look at the battle until Hakumen caught her hand moving in that direction.

"Stay focused, child of aura…You must be ready to detect the Imperator's influence the very moment it appears." He advised, causing Shina to wince and drop her hand back down to her hip.

"R-Right!" She snapped back to attention, and began to wiggle her fingers around inside of her pockets. She was anxious in the presence of four of the Six Heroes, and that feeling wasn't helped by the inevitability of fighting Izanami. But for now, all she could do is was stand and wait for her time to act, leaving Tsubaki's fate up to the others.

Facing off against four opponents forced Tsubaki to zip around as fast as she could around the edges of the arena, unable to break for anymore than a second at best. Her Izayoi was versatile enough to help her stave off most attacks, such as allowing her to transform her spear into a long chain that she can whip at Kagura and Makoto to keep them from taking advantage of their incredible strength.

She swung her shield up to block Noel's bullets and Jin's ice blades, and had to use it to protect herself from Makoto and Kagura if they did manage to get in close. After fending off three of Jin's blades with a swing of her whip, Tsubaki parried Kagura's ground tearing upward slash with the bottom of her shield and stabbed her spear forward, managing to graze the side of his hip and draw a couple drops of blood.

Kagura winced then retreated with a leap, but bent down enough for Makoto to hop off his shoulders with right fist pulled above the head. Her eyes burning with fire, she put all her weight into a rapid descent and tried to sock her friend atop the head. Tsubaki widened her eyes and leaped back to the edge of the arena, Makoto's punch crashing down and heaving up a hefty chunk of the ground.

Makoto rose up and threw an uppercut into the front of the rocks, shattering and send the broken stones flying at Tsubaki. She froze up for a moment then moved her limbs around, the stones sharp enough to cut through parts of her clothes as they stuck to the wall behind her. She then motioned her spear towards Makoto, but was overcome by an unbearable cold as the stones behind her were frozen over.

The frozen stones were able to snatch onto Tsubaki's clothes and hold her in place even as she grunted with a great deal of strain. She turned to face Jin, who pulled Yukianesa from the ground and put it back in it's sheath. The ice holding Tsubaki shattered, but by then Noel had gotten into the prime position to turn her Bolverks into a gatling gun.

"Please wake up…Tsubaki!" She proclaimed with desperation before unleashing a seemingly unending torrent of bullets upon her friend. Tsubaki, stiffened from the ice on her skin, had to throw her shield up and spread the wings on it to create a big enough shield for defense. Biting her teeth down, Tsubaki leapt off the ground and used the force of the bullets to push herself up onto the bleachers.

Once there, Tsubaki was able to sprint to the right and use the top of the gate for cover, giving herself a moment's reprieve. She shook her arms to heat herself back up, and caught her breath with heavy pants. Already left sweating, Tsubaki grit her teeth into a scowl and then leapt on top of the gate. She swung her spear beside her head and from the shield summoned forth eight other spears that spun in an arc behind her.

With a commanding gesture, the spears were sent flying two at a time to each of her foes. Noel took hers out with one shot from each of her guns, Kagura sliced the air with a backhanded swing to create a spiraling discus of black-violet flames, and Jin summoned a pillar of ice to freeze them in mid-air. Makoto had a bit more trouble, with one of the spears slicing along the back of her right arm as she punched the other away.

"Ghhhh…!" She grunted, but focused her attention up on Tsubaki as she immediately flew off the gate and dove straight down embraced by a pair of bright pink feather wings. Makoto threw both her arms up, using the left tonfa to block Tsubaki's shield-bearing charge. However, the impact applied pressure to the right arm and caused blood to come out, weakening the brace Makoto had on her left hand.

Tsubaki landed on the ground and kept her shield pressed against the tonfa, dragging Makoto down to her knees one inch at a time. Tsubaki stared down at her with a fevered glare and raised her spear above the head. Yet, even with all this pressure, Makoto cracked a grin and started chuckling, leaving her friend confused.

"What's so funny, Lieutenant Nanaya?" She asked sternly. Makoto dug one knee into the ground and pressed her right hand against the palm of her left, keeping the shield at bay.

"Hehehe, nothing really, Tsubaki! It's just that, well…" Makoto closed her eyes and continued to smile, "I'm sorry."

"W-What? What are you talking about?!"

"When we were reunited back in Kagutsuchi, I told you that you weren't the same Tsubaki I used to know. I thought my Tsubaki was a kind, helpful, if sometimes stubborn, friend. I didn't think you were capable of being so sternly devoted to justice, that you'd do anything to enforce it…" Makoto's brace gave way just a little, forcing her to grunt. Noel was about to fire, when Kagura swung his left arm up in front of the guns barrels.

"But there ain't two Tsubakis! There's only one of 'em, and she's one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world! A friend who saw me as a person instead of some savage beast like all the others did! A friend who I laughed with! Studied with! Spent countless priceless days with! I've never lost that Tsubaki, so I was a real idiot for saying you were someone else! And I'm sorry!"

Those words, so brimming with passion, were a guiding light in the sea of darkness Tsubaki found herself adrift in. For a moment, Tsubaki's eyes returned to their natural shade of blue, and her grip on both shield and spear wavered.

"M-Makoto…I-I…!" A sharp bolt pierced through the darkness and brought ruin to the light in but an instance, yet in doing so also tore Tsubaki's mind asunder. As her eyes turned back to red, she let out a blood-curling scream of, "I won't let you dissuade me!"

In the bleachers, Shina's body was rattled by a cold shiver as the pulse of a different aura overcame Tsubaki and she declared to the others, "I almost got a lock on Izanami!"

Tsubaki brought her spear down towards Makoto's head, but with great timing and finesse Kagura intervened by standing with his back turned and sword hung behind his right shoulder. As the spear bounced off the thicker weapon, Tsubaki pulled back, infuriated by the smirk Kagura threw her way.

"Is that how you're going to treat your friend after that heart-to-heart, Tsubaki? Come on, even you have to admit that's pretty cold." He spun around and placed the blade at his hip while Makoto got to her feet and cracked a grin.

"Ya coulda timed that a little bit better Kagura, I was almost a squirrel skewer!"

"You held out longer than I expected, but it seems to have had an effect on Tsubaki," Kagura and Makoto watched as Tsubaki's grip on the spear was alternating between shaking and tightening every second, "We keep this up, and she'll be able to fend off the Mind Eater on her own."

Makoto stretched her right arm up and spun it around, her right eye wincing as she declared "I'll go as long as it takes to free her! Come on, lets tag-team!"

"Heh, I like the way you're thinking there Makoto." Kagura said with a grin, and a surprised Makoto responded with widened eyes "Wow, I was really expecting a perverted joke outta you."

She then banged her tonfas together and pulled back on her right fist, digging her feet into the ground and proclaiming, "But if you're serious, then I'm all in!"

A giant rift opened up behind Makoto, lined up perfectly with the shaken Tsubaki. Kagura raised his blade in both hands over his head and charged it with dark energy, cracking a grin as he stated "You provide the 'Bang', and I'll provide the 'Fang'!"

"Heh…! Gladly!" Makoto thrust her fist forward and a much larger fist of energy punched straight out of the rift, while Kagura slammed his sword into the ground to create a giant pillar that the fist flew through on the way to Tsubaki.

"Big Bang Piercing Fang!"

Their hearts burned together in that proclamation, while a flaming fist of darkness shot forth towards Tsubaki. The air was pushed out around the fist, creating a gale that almost blew her off her feet. Yet, ever defiant, Tsubaki stood her ground and pounded the air with her shield to create a bright and giant seal. The seal blocked the fist but started cracking, Tsubaki being pushed back as she tried to hold the attack at bay.

Her left arm was the first part to give in as it started bending closer to her chest, and Tsubaki could hear the elbow bones crack as she pressed on as hard as she could. Then, a pair of guns crossed her body, causing her to be struck by a burst of energy that distracted and weakened her. She swung her head to the left and saw Noel holding Bolverk up, the sight of her leading Tsubaki into a state of indignation once more.

"Why must you always get in my way…Noel Vermillion?!" Tsubaki sacrificed some of the strength she put into defense to take her spear and stab the ground, summoning forth a series of jagged pillars around Noel's position. With her agility and limberness, Noel slipped around the pillars and kept firing Bolverk at Tsubaki with every given interval she had.

It only took three shots for Tsubaki to break her concentration and pull her spear up, followed by the shield shattering and the fist colliding with her body. Having been impacted with enough force to crunch a tank to scrap, Tsubaki was enveloped by a pillar of darkness that ripped through the ceiling and almost reached the ceiling. Keeping her distance while basking in the ghoulish luminescence, Noel stared on with her lower lip bitten and eyes blank with grief.

"I-I'm so sorry Tsubaki…" She murmured to herself, relieved when the flames died down and Tsubaki stood in the center of them still alive. Embers were scattered across the body, leaving her uniform in disrespectful shambles, while her skin was forever marred by burn marks. Yet, even with gasps of pain filling her every breath, Tsubaki held tight to the spear and shield and met every person surrounding her with glares of outrage.

"Y-You think…T-That I'll just surrender…?! I…I am the Wings of Justice…! The Imperator has entrusted me…to carry out her will! And her will…IS justice!" Tsubaki raised her spear at Noel, her mouth partially agape with words of hatred adorning the tip of her tongue. But blood spurted out of her mouth, her knees dropping to the small puddle that was beginning to form. Noel moved one foot forward and began to extend a hand towards her friend.

"TSUBAKI!" She screamed, but then Jin swung his left hand up and declared, "Do not get any closer to her! It's dangerous!"

Tsubaki's eyes widened and her body shed pitch black feathers, the wings atop her cap spreading out and flapping wildly. She raised a hand to the right side of her face to cover it while gripping the left side tightly. Tears were forced from her now glowing eyes, and she muttered a mad mantra to herself.

"I…I can't fail…! Her majesty…is counting on me!"

As Tsubaki was in a great deal of pain, Shina observed her aura flailing about wildly and then noticed the presence of another aura appearing before the girl. It was lifeless, and held Tsubaki's own aura in a choking embrace. Widening her eyes, Shina proclaimed, "That's her! That's Izanami's aura!"

" _I'm transmitting the data now! Keep an eye on her!"_ Kokonoe chimed in over Shina's communicator, taking just a few moments to use Shina's amplified tracking capabilities to lock onto the Death Goddess' true location.

"… _Unbelievable…She's hiding in Ishana of all places! Strap yourselves in, I'm sending you off pronto!"_ True to her word, Kokonoe summoned a mass teleportation sphere to take the five away to Ishana, leaving the others to finish dealing with Tsubaki.

In the darkness of her own mind, Tsubaki was approached by the visage of the Imperator, who extended her hand out and pretended to smile.

"Why do you hesitate…Tsubaki Yayoi? You do have the power to make **my** justice a reality."

"I-Imperator…!" Tsubaki exclaimed out of shame and fright, unable to budge from her pained position to give a bow of respect.

"Forgive me…! I have failed you!"

"You have done no such thing," The Imperator was docile and accepting, all for the sake of her manipulative front, "You have the power to slay all who oppose me…All who oppose **my** justice. Look deep inside you, Tsubaki Yayoi…Recognize that power, the true power of the Izayoi!"

The Imperator drew out her spindly fingers and cracked a grin, pooling her power out to ensnare Tsubaki further into her thrall. Tsubaki's eyes shook, but were filled with a greater certainty than before.

"The true power of…the Izayoi?" Tsubaki muttered that both in her mind and in reality, as both the uniform she wore and the weapons she wielded began to crack, bringing an uneven smile to her face.

"T-That's right…! I am the sword that will sever evil…The blade that will cleanse this world…That is my place! I will not lose…TO ANYONE! Power no one can take away from me…The power to see my own justice!" The darkness dispersed in a flash of light that spread throughout the Coliseum, and Tsubaki proudly declared the true name of her weapon, "The Zero-Type…IZAYOI!"

The light faded save for near the center of the arena, and Tsubaki stood up in the center of the radiance completely transformed. The black uniform had been shed off and replaced with bits of a white one, while also giving her a sleeveless purple skin-tight bodysuit, a short, slender white outfit, and white knee-length boots. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail by a winged golden pin, and at her hips were golden plates with small downward blades attached to them. In her left hand, she wielded a spear with a large, thick head made of pink energy.

Though her eyes were still red, Tsubaki projected the purity of an angel, and gentle golden feathers floated down around her. She propped the spear backwards beside her left hip, and kneeled down to face her many enemies with renewed determination.

"With the blade of retribution in my right…And the scales of judgment in my left! I have come to deliver…Righteous justice!" She widened her eyes and her power flushed forth without any visible presence, "Zero-type…Activate!"

Then, a powerful shockwave rumbled through the very Coliseum, pressing down on everyone inside as though time and space itself was coming apart. Yet, for such a dangerous phenomenon, it's presence lasted but a single moment. Though it did not go unnoticed by Noel, who muttered, "W-What was that…?"

Jin faced Tsubaki and stated to her, "So, this is the true form of the Izayoi? Tsubaki, is this truly the power you wish to fight with?"

Tsubaki turned to face him, spear held at the hip ready to be swung out, "This is the embodiment of my justice, Jin Kisaragi! Before my spear, all shall know judgment!"

"Is this truly **your** justice, Tsubaki? Or the Imperator's?" Jin pressed without a hint of hesitation, causing Tsubaki to grit her teeth and stutter, "O-Of course it's mine!"

"You hesitate…Tsubaki, whatever 'justice' that piece of trash wants is worthless. How can you possibly expect someone so worthless to bring justice to this world? She'll be the death of us all!" Jin proclaimed, trying to reach out to Tsubaki's heart with all he had.

Tsubaki stiffened, biting her lower lip and staying stagnant as she said, "T-That's not true! S-She…"

"She is absolute! The Imperator's justice is what this world needs! 'Power of Order'…You are a fool to stand against me!" Tsubaki yelled out with a more cold attitude, signifying Izanami's interference.

"So, the trash comes out to play…But you're wasting your time. Tsubaki's heart is not so weak that she'll succumb to your control!" Jin declared, a resounding noise that broke through the shroud of possession covering Tsubaki's mind and caused her to reach out on her own.

"J-Jin…! H-Help…me!" She declared.

"Tsubaki! Do not give in!" Jin drew Yukianesa and pointed it at Tsubaki, but before the girl could be forced to fight her body pulsated and she let out a gasp of shock. Jin paused and murmured, "This sensation…!"

"Gh…Ghhhhhh….! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Tsubaki screamed in agony as a pitch purple aura surrounded her body, erupting with a vile presence. The power waved out like a violent gale, and Jin exclaimed to the others, "Get out of here now! I'm the only one who can handle this!"

"Ghh…! I-I hate to say it, but I gotta agree with Jin! Come on Makoto, lets scram!" Kagura was having difficulty holding his ground, and had no hesitation in making his way for the gate. Makoto stood back for a moment though, noticing that Noel wasn't running.

"Noel, come on! This's looking really bad!" She declared, only to find Noel shaking her head and yelling, "I'm not going to run away! Tsubaki's in danger and she needs my help too!"

"Don't be nuts! I know you're tough Noellers, but this is a whole other ballpark!"

"Maybe it is for me as I am now…" Noel closed her eyes for a moment and locked Bolverk back into the holsters, then thrust her eyes back open, revealing them to be blue.

"But there's more to me than what's on the surface! So please, hang on Tsubaki…!" At that moment, a large gold and blue Murakumo Unit dropped to the ground behind Noel, covering her in a plume of dust. The dust parted when a set of eight floating blades spread out around Noel, who had donned the Murakumo Unit for herself, taking upon the power of her other self, Mu-12.

Like Nu, Mu had bladed legs, but instead of a body suit most of her midsection was laid bare. Pieces of her uniform covered her hips and chest, while large pauldrons were adorned on her shoulders, looking similar to what was on Hakumen's armor. Mu's hair extended to her rear, the ends left tattered like a dirt rag, while on her head was a small helmet with pointed horns. Then, there was Mu's eyes, which were full of life and confidence as she stared at her best friend.

Makoto widened her eyes and murmured, "N-Noellers…? Is this what Rachel helped ya with?"

However, Makoto wouldn't get to watch for much longer as Kagura got in front of her and helped push her behind the safety of the 'Dragon' gate. Jin looked towards Mu with a hint of disdain, something she was fully aware of.

"I know you hate me Major, especially when I'm like this…But Tsubaki's not just your friend! She's mine too! So please, we have to fight together to save her!"

"…Just don't get in my way, Noel." Jin said that and nothing more before he pointed Yukianesa at Tsubaki, who was fully in the embrace of the strange aura. Tsubaki recovered from the pain and drew her spear towards her foes, her eyes giving off a pale flash.

"In the name of the Izayoi…I sentence you all to face retribution!"

 _Next Time: Kill the Injustice_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Childish Killer**

A battle raged within the Coliseum of Yabiko, unknown to all but those who fought within. There was a girl torn between three voices in her own mind. One voice was a warrior screaming for justice, another was the puppeteer guiding this warrior's 'justice' in her name, and the third was one of muffled fright that begged to be free of the other voices. This girl's fate was in the hands of her friends, who were not ready in the slightest to back down in her time of need.

Tsubaki, having claimed the full power of the Izayoi, wielded a powerful spear in this battle she wanted nothing to do with. She first set her sights on Noel, who had transformed into her true form of the Murakumo Unit Mu, and flew across the ground in a single stroke of movement to reach her. She stabbed her spear forward with precision aim towards the stomach, with Noel raising a leg to block it.

The connection of the spear sliced shavings off the leg and sent sparks flying skyward for but a moment. Noel then kicked her leg forward and Tsubaki spun her spear up to block the attack, speeding back to avoid a golden crescent slash Noel sent forth with a twist of her body. Tsubaki sensed frost creeping up her back and looked back, watching as a spear of ice thrust forth from the ground.

She finished turning around and slashed the ice in two, but it reached so close to her face that her vision was briefly obscured in the flakes of snow that lingered. Jin pushed himself off the ground in a bounding leap and pulled Yukianesa forth from the hilt, calling out it's name to demand it's loyalty.

The declaration alerted Tsubaki of Jin's position, and though her eyes squinted from the presence of frost she thrust her spear up into the air to try and bring Jin down. The spear's length extended at the handle, allowing it to reach Jin even as he was suspended twenty feet in the air.

Jin met Tsubaki's agile stroke by lashing his sword out in a short but strong curve, hitting the top of the spear's blade to deflect it's given path. Tsubaki widened her eyes and then swung back in the other direction without pause, and this time her attack connected with Jin's gut and cut a light scar into it. Jin grunted and dropped to the ground, his right leg giving in just a centimeter.

Tsubaki then held her spear up in one arm and summoned a small pink rift, sending an energy arrowhead right towards Jin. Noel zoomed in between the two and thrust her arms up, summoning a diamond barrier around her body with the help of her floating blades to block the attack. Her presence set Tsubaki off, who growled internally as she kneeled down and turned the spear around behind her back.

She lunged forward, moving faster than the wind to spin around Noel's body and get behind her, where she was already in the midst of swinging her spear up. Noel spun around in the nick of time to cross her arms for protection, only for Tsubaki to strike with such blinding speed and overwhelming force that Noel's arms were forced up when the spear connected from below.

Tsubaki went for a downward slash the moment she saw the opening, but the direction of her attack was thrown off-course when Jin delivered a swift cut to her backside. The spear ended up grinding against the front of Noel's leg, putting a scar into it. Noel did a short-ranged dash back and gathered her blades back together, holding them all in the grasp of both hands. Jin, meanwhile, pulling back on Yukianesa until his body could not twist around anymore.

Tsubaki saw the two attacks coming and stood sideways between her foes, pointing her spear downwards as the two triangles at her hips rose up beside her head and released sparkling wings of blue light as Tsubaki's own body glowed. As both Noel brought the blades forward into a crescent slash and Jin attacked with an upward slice of pure frost, the bits Tsubaki called forth moved on their own to block the attacks.

The blades grinded against the indomitable bits, sending sparks of blue energy flying across the room until Noel and Jin were repelled by their inability to break through. Tsubaki then moved the bits by her hips and had them circle around and around, each one firing off a continuous string of lasers across the arena.

Noel was able to levitate to avoid them, but Jin had to leap into the bleachers to get out of the way. He then ran along to the right and thrust his left hand out on occasion to send blades of ice at Tsubaki, forcing her to position the bits closer to her body to send lasers out that can deal with the ice. While the bits dealt with Jin's attacks, Tsubaki turned and leaned back, gliding along the ground while using her spear to weave together a circular portal that she thrust the blade of the spear into.

The portal captured the shape of the spear's blade and magnified it thricefold via energy, stabbing it straight out towards Jin. Jin pulled Yukianesa from the sheath and slashed the incoming spear in the tip, freezing it over entirely. As the ice cracked before him, Jin placed Yukianesa back in and prepared another slice to break the ice before him.

But as he attacked the ice head-on, the spear crumbled from the back onward in a matter of seconds as Tsubaki came charging in. Jin widened his eyes and hesitated on pulling his blade forth, leaping back so Tsubaki's spear would stab into the bleachers and destroy roughly four seats worth of space. Chips of wood and stone flew up into Jin's body, a couple reaching his face and making him grimace.

Tsubaki kneeled down and pulled the spear behind herself, calling her bits back to her hips and releasing the energy from within in preparation to propel herself forward. Yet, before she made her charge, a couple others mechanical bits appeared around her body and opened up. Tsubaki glanced at each one then looked over her shoulder to see Noel guiding the bits with her hands.

With two quick and broad strikes before the bits could fire, Tsubaki destroyed them and then spun around, using the built up power in her bits to propel herself off the bleachers like a rocket. She met Noel in mid-air with a forward stab, to which Noel responded by moving herself a little to the left to avoid being grazed across the stomach by the blade.

Positioned beside her friend, Noel kicked her right leg up as far and hard as she could and hit Tsubaki in the forehead. She avoided using the bladed part of her leg, but still drew blood from Tsubaki's skin from how hard the impact was. Tsubaki stumbled back and laid her left hand on the forehead as the blood trickled out, then grit her teeth and growled. Noel kept her distance and stared straight into her friend's eyes.

"Tsubaki! Please, you have to fight it!" She pleaded, but Tsubaki just wasn't receptive to her help in the slightest.

"Y-You…are my **enemy**! An enemy of the WORLD! You WILL pay for your existence, NOEL VERMILLION!" She recovered from the pain with blinding rage, stabbing her spear out in a millisecond and managing to cut Noel across the side of her hip. Noel squeaked out a grunt of pain and then flew back to avoid the next strike, sensing the cold trickle of blood down the side of her body as she moved.

Tsubaki raised the spear above her head and swung down while pushing ahead, the blow deflected by Noel raising her left hand up. Tsubaki didn't relent and attacked again with a broad horizontal slice, and Noel twisted her arm downward to block that attack. She then pulled back and summoned a bit that fired upon Tsubaki, striking her in the chest.

Noel followed up by summoning a couple more bits right in front of her and behind Tsubaki, firing a laser out from the right shoulder that was swallowed by the foremost bit. Tsubaki attacked the bit to destroy it, but the laser was already reflected off to the second bit. The bit turned back and aimed at Tsubaki, who turned around and stabbed her spear up in a swift motion to destroy it.

Noel then flew over to Tsubaki and wrapped her arms around the waist, closing her eyes tight as she threw her friend towards the ground. Noel then dove down and pressed the bottoms of her feet against Tsubaki's back, driving her into the ground hard enough to uproot part of the ground. Noel winced with a tiny scowl towards herself, guilt riddling her mind as she heard Tsubaki cough out violently.

Noel leaped off and Tsubaki pulled herself to her feet in a second, to Noel's surprise. For the moment she was left vulnerable in shock, Tsubaki tried to stab straight for her face. Noel threw her hands up and grabbed the spear's blade at the sides, holding it back even as Tsubaki grabbed the handle in both hands and pushed with all her might.

"Noel…NOEEEELL!" Tsubaki growled in a feral rage, her eyes green with envy, "You took it away from me…! You took it **ALL** …AWAY FROM ME!"

All her rage, all her unbridled disdain, Noel could sense but not understand it in the slightest. Even still, she was weighed down by the pressure of guilt, making it harder for her to hold back Tsubaki's attack.

" _Tsubaki…Was this how you always felt about me?"_ Noel's thoughts wandered to the past, specifically to the day her and her fellow classmates graduated from the NOL Academy.

 _It was a day that Noel would never forget. After years of bumbling her way through tiresome studies, meals eaten with her best friends, and building memories that would stay with her forever she found herself on stage in the auditorium ready to receive her diploma along with the rest of her peers at the time._

 _She was wearing a dress picked out for her with love and care by her adoptive parents consisting of a white dress shirt with long sleeves, a blue tie, long blue skirt, white stockings, and dark brown shoes. A cushy braid sat atop her hair, which was let down to it's standard length. Noel remembered all the glares of the audience focused upon her, and how much her knees and hands rattled as she accepted the diploma from the headmaster of the academy._

 _If it wasn't for Makoto's barely contained whispers of encouragement, she might have fainted right on stage and been embarrassed for all eternity. When everyone had accepted their diplomas and other honors, the entire auditorium chanted the creed of the NOL out loud…_

" _Dispatched in mankind's darkest hour…WE are Knights of the Blue Flame!"_

 _And then the audience and now former students were allowed to depart, joining their friends and family in celebration. After Noel had accepted the warm and tight hugs of her parents, she went to seek her friends out at their insistence. Through the crowd of hundreds, Noel saw Tsubaki wandering out into the halls and went after her._

 _Running so fast that she had to catch her breath, Noel caught up with Tsubaki and saw her looking down at an open letter in right hand. At the time, Tsubaki wore a wholesome pink dress with a lacy red ribbon around her waist and a flowery hat atop her head, complete with white sandals and stockings._

" _T-Tsubaki! Hey!" Noel called her friend's name with enthusiasm, and with a squeamish flinch Tsubaki clenched the letter up in her grasp and turned around, laying a hand before her beating heart and letting out a sigh._

" _Goodness Noel, you scared me!" She brushed her chest off and tried to compose herself as her friend remarked, "I-I'm sorry!"_

 _Noel then tilted her head and looked at Tsubaki's letter, "Hey, what's that Tsubaki?"_

" _Huh?" Tsubaki looked down at the letter and then tucked it behind her back, insisting with a gentle stutter, "O-Oh, it's just a…letter from my parents congratulating me for graduating."_

" _Oh? They didn't show up?" Noel sucked her lips in and shook her head quickly, "I-I'm sorry, that sounded rude."_

" _No, no, it's quite alright. I'm fine. I know they're busy, but at least they were able to express how proud they were in their letter…" Tsubaki looked a bit down-trodden, so Noel decided to change the subject._

" _So h-hey…Are you going to join us in the main hall? Makoto, Mai, Kajun and Taro are all waiting for you."_

" _O-Oh yeah, I almost forgot they've graduated at the same time as us." Tsubaki stuttered, smiling with a bit of embarrassment._

" _To think…Today'll be the last day that Team Remix Heart will be together." She sounded both nostalgic and disheartened, and Noel let out a little gasp of fright._

" _D-Don't say that! Just cause we'll be apart, doesn't mean we'll never see each other again!"_

" _No…No, you're right Noel. I'm sorry…" Tsubaki apologized with a respectful nod, and Noel shook her head and insisted, "Don't be! T-To be honest…It'll be hard to be apart from you guys. You're my best friends in the whole wide world."_

" _Heheh, of course, you are mine as well," Tsubaki had more of a smile on a face after that, "Sorry for being such a downer Noel. Lets not worry about our future. For now, lets enjoy the present!"_

" _Uh-huh! Lets go, Tsubaki!" Noel and Tsubaki began to head down the hallway, standing side-by-side to go join their friends. But, at that moment, Noel remembered bringing something up to her friend._

" _Oh yeah! I-I almost forgot…!" Noel looked at her friend, "About six months ago, I got a letter asking if I wanted to join the 4_ _th_ _Division as a Lieutenant."_

" _The…the 4_ _th_ _Division?" Tsubaki stammered with a tone of recognition, then turned and looked at her friend as she explained, "Yeah…That's where Jin transferred, right?"_

" _U-U-Uh huh…?" Tsubaki's mind appeared to be wandering out of focus of the conversation, and Noel ended up being unaware of that at the time._

" _I-I wasn't going to take the offer at first…But it'll keep my family safe if I do," Noel pressed her hands together before her waist and murmured, "I-I just don't think I'll make a good secretary. You would've been better suited for the job, Tsubaki."_

"… _Noel, you'll do a fine job." Tsubaki provided support after a moment of contemplation towards herself. Noel turned her head and seemed surprised, even though she was her friend, to hear such encouragement._

" _J-Just…promise me one thing, alright?" Tsubaki couldn't look her friend in the eyes and nestled a hand up on the right side of her face as she requested, "Make sure to protect Jin, no matter what."_

Breaking free from the thrall of memories, Noel stared past her hands and looked into Tsubaki's eyes. The rage, the disdain…they were both joined by an emotion that allowed Noel to understand them all at once.

" _Tsubaki…You were jealous of me, weren't you? All this time, you hated that I got to be Jin's secretary while you were put into the Zero Division…I-I had no idea…"_

But thinking about that would not change anything. Only be expressing her revelations through words born from the genuine kindness in her heart would Noel have any hope of reaching Tsubaki's own.

As the tip of the spear edged ever close, Noel gave a tense gulp and spoke out with confidence and guilt, "Tsubaki, it was never my intention to take the role of being Jin's secretary away from you. I-It was out of my control, but I'm sincerely, honestly sorry if you've hated me all this time for that…"

"You're my best friend in the whole wide world Tsubaki…That hasn't changed, and I never want it **to** change. B-Back when I joined the Academy…I was alone. I was timid, and afraid…Uncertain of whether or not I fit in. But even so, you approached me, and without caring about where I came from or what my upbringing was…You accepted me as your friend."

Tsubaki's eyes widened, and the grip on the handle loosened a little. She listened as Noel continued to sing her praises of the type of person she was to her.

"That's what I've always admired about you Tsubaki. You were never afraid to speak your mind…If someone was causing trouble, you told them off…If someone needed help, you'd always listen. I-I always wanted to be just like you…"

"I…I never meant to hurt you Tsubaki. It doesn't matter if I'm responsible or not…If I didn't exist, then this never would've happened to you. But no matter what you do to me, I'll always consider you my friend."

"N-N…Noel…!" Tsubaki's true self came through gasping in pain, and the blade of her spear shook in Noel's grasp as it began to pull back. The strange aura erupted around Tsubaki as she jerked it outright, and she let out a blood-curling scream that shook the very Coliseum.

Noel held her ground, staring into Tsubaki's eyes and screaming her name in a panic. Tsubaki grabbed the spear in both hands and swung it over her head, her expression thrown into a frenzy of rage and agony.

"Y-You're…MY ENEMY! Die…NOEL VERMILLION!" As the blade swung down, a guillotine of absolute justice, Noel closed her eyes and sensed the life fleeing from her body. Yet, death would not come, not now, as her savior would herald his rescue with a simple command.

"Freeze…Yukianesa." A pillar of diagonal ice erupted from the ground and latched itself around the top of Tsubaki's spear and her hands, keeping her from budging forward even an inch. Noel opened her eyes and was shocked to find Jin standing behind Tsubaki with his blade planted into the ground.

He pulled it up and placed it in the sheath, closing his eyes and addressing Noel with a modicum of respect, "You've done enough. Leave the rest to me."

"M-Major?"

"Jin…" Tsubaki growled while looking over her shoulder, "Why…why would you defend her? You've always hated her!"

"Hmph…You are mistaken. I care nothing about what happens to that piece of trash…" Jin returned to his usual roughness, but then switched to a more subdued and compassionate tone as he looked Tsubaki in the eyes.

"But Tsubaki, you would never forgive yourself if you went through with killing her. How could you possibly look at yourself and say your 'justice' is just once you've murdered someone you care for in cold blood?"

"And what? You claim that your 'Power of Order' is what's truly 'just' in this world?" Tsubaki spoke with a more cold tone.

"I wasn't asking you, monster." Jin said with a firm and cold stare into Tsubaki's eyes, which seemed to quell her possessor and let the girl herself answer the question. At first, her lips quivered, and her eyes swelled up with uncertainty.

"I-I…" Tsubaki knew naught what to say. Her mind was torn asunder by the continuous influx of information and emotions inside and outside. Only the power controlling her gave her the strength to push forward, but at the same time it forced her to shatter the ice binding her and turn that spear straight towards Jin with a disdainful glare.

"Noel Vermillion is a threat to this world! And a threat to everything we've worked so hard to achieve!"

"Is that what you believe, Tsubaki, or is that what they are telling you?" Jin looked Tsubaki straight on with unbelievable fury, "Answer me! Tsubaki!"

Tsubaki's spear drooped down a little and she raised a shaky hand to the left side of her face, muttering his name as though her heart was seconds away from ripping to pieces. A single tear fell from her eyes as she pleaded out for dear life, "P-Please…Jin…I-I can't fight back…H-Help me…!"

"Tsskk…!" Jin wrenched Yukianesa free from it's sheath and held it out, calling out to Tsubaki with all he had, "You **can** fight back! You are not alone, Tsubaki! I **will** free you from that monster's control, but I can't do it without your help!"

Tsubaki reared her head back and the hand slipped off of it. With a wide and gleeful grin, she swung her head forward and pulled the spear beside her left hip, looking at Jin with the hardened glare of a warrior.

"She cannot hear you, 'Power of Order'…All your actions are futile."

"Do not underestimate Tsubaki, you worthless piece of trash! She **will** break free of your control!"

"The only 'freedom' any of you shall experience, shall be that which only Death itself can offer. Perish for your crimes…Jin Kisaragi!" As the puppeteer made their declaration, Tsubaki was forced into action with a charge forward. Noel, putting all her faith into Jin, decided to stand back and watch with her eyes fraught with fear.

Tsubaki stabbed her spear forward and Jin leaped back onto the edge of the bleachers, with her following up by summoning three green energy arrows around his body. He pulled Yukianesa from the sheath and spun around, cutting the arrows down before lashing the ground to send a wave of ice right at her.

Tsubaki zipped to the right and plowed through the side of the bleachers as she rose and curved around to try and approach Jin from behind. He turned and raised his blade in defense, but she managed to slip past his defenses and stab him in the gut. The tip of the blade pierced an inch inside before the force of the blow pushed him back into the arena.

He dug his feet into the ground and coiled over a bit from the blood leaking from his gut, yet found the strength to lash his blade upward to summon a large pillar of ice straight at Tsubaki. She gave a horizontal slash through the front of the pillar to split it in two, leaping onto the top of the bottom half and using it to slide down after Jin.

Jin held Yukianesa like an arrow and created a bow of ice, firing off a large frosted arrow at Tsubaki. She used her right bit to thrust her leg up and kick the arrow in the head, knocking it into the upper half of the pillar. As the arrow broke through the pillar and shattered it into cubes, Tsubaki dropped in an instant and thrust herself straight at Jin once more.

He placed his sword in the sheath and anticipated Tsubaki's next attack. At the speeds she was moving, he had less than a second to predict the direction and strength of which her spear would attack. When she swung, he did so as well at the same time and their clash made light flash across the entire Coliseum for a brief moment. Then, Jin and Tsubaki's right shoulder got a gash on it and caused them to kneeling down and wince.

They locked their legs up before they went all the way down, then turn around and lashed their weapons at, meeting midway and deflecting their attacks off one another. As Jin pulled back, Tsubaki detached her bits and had them fire at him. With the lasers being prepared, Jin swung his weakened right arm in front of his face and summoned a familiar red seal.

"Open your eyes, TSUBAKI!"

Tsubaki froze up, staring straight at the shield and for a moment seeing Jin as someone else entirely, "L-Lord…Hakumen?!"

"Empty Sky Form…" The lasers impacted with Jin's shield and time froze to a stop as he pulled his body back and dashed forward in and instant, ending up past the bits and Tsubaki.

"Winter's Riposte!" She placed the sheathe behind his back and locked the sword back in. As the metal clicked into place, multiple slashes of frost covered the air around the bits and Tsubaki's body. The bits were obliterated, and Tsubaki took a couple cuts across her body until she was able to deflect the remaining attacks with her spear.

With the last strike dealt with, Tsubaki spun around and looked at Jin, her body shaken from what she had witnessed. For a second more, she saw the back of Hakumen where Jin stood, but the visage faded as the man turned around and looked at her. The grip on her spear was wavering, and she murmured to him, "J-Jin…Y-You…Y-You…"

Her eyes widened to give a cold and emotionless glare, the possessor once more taking the reigns of her body, "You have been a thorn in our side for long enough. You shall be the first to witness the true power of the Izayoi!"

Tsubaki kneeled down and held the spear behind her back, dashing to the opposite side of the arena away from Jin. The spear's blade tightened into a thin blue form whose length was as long as Tsubaki was tall.

"Releasing restriction Zero…Activating Immortal Breaker!"

"N-No! Stop it!" Tsubaki screamed, but her hold on the weapon could not be broken. It was as tight as an iron maiden sealed around a corpse, and the weapon itself was now as lethal as one. Jin stood his ground and looked her in the eyes, watching as Tsubaki's spirit struggled for control within the raging hell that was an eternal darkness within.

"Tsubaki! You can fight it! Hang on!" He exclaimed, but Tsubaki's hold refused to waver even the slightest.

"I-I'm sorry…It's too powerful! J-Jin…you have to run, now!"

"I refuse to run away! Remember our promise Tsubaki! Will you let that bitch undo everything you've worked so hard to achieve?!"

Tsubaki's mind, through the chaos that unfolded within, strained to recall days long gone. She remembered when her and Jin were young and stood in the gardens of the Yayoi residence together. She was alone for most of her life, only able to interact with him due to her family's connection to the Kisaragis.

Jin wasn't much for talking back then too, but he seemed to always enjoy her company. Yet, perhaps out of childish innocence, Tsubaki and Jin had made a promise under the Yayoi residence's cherry blossom tree to one day rise to the top ranks of the NOL and change the world for the better. As she remembered that promise, Tsubaki's eyes bulged out and tears gushed forth, and she swung her mouth agape and screamed at the top of her lungs as her attack seemed impossible to halt.

"JIN! I don't want to break our promise! Please, I'm begging you…YOU HAVE TO RUN!"

"I will not!" He defied her request, bravely standing in the path of the Immortal Breaker as Tsubaki was forced to charge forth with it held out, the puppeteer proclaiming victoriously, "Then die…JIN KISARAGI!"

"JIN, NO!" Noel, Makoto and Kagura exclaimed in a panic as the spear stabbed itself into Jin's body, leaving no physical wound on his form. Yet, even so, he grit his teeth and grunted out in agonizing pain. He closed his eyes and winced as the energies of the Immortal Breaker shot forth and consumed his body. Tsubaki gasped and pulled the spear free from Jin's body, and at that moment the strange aura broke off from her body as her grasp on the spear broke. She swung her arms out, mortified at what she had done to him.

"No…No no no! Jin! You can't die! Y-You can't DIE!" Tsubaki, in a moment of desperation, threw her arms around his waist and held onto it as tight as physically possible. Tears trickled out from her eyes and soaked into his clothes.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! Y-You can't die! Not like this…not like this!" Tsubaki bawled her eyes out and was becoming incomprehensible in the way she spoke.

"It's alright Tsubaki…It'll take more than that trash's machinations to kill me." Jin spoke softly into her ears, causing her to gasp and lift her head up to see him looking down with a tiny smile on his face.

"B-But…how?" She wondered, pulling her hands up to rub her eyes and make certain that she was not bearing witness to a cruel dream. But he was real, not just to the sight, but to the touch. She could feel his warmth, he was alive as he always was.

She dropped to her knees and laid a hand on the side of her forehead. The façade of the warrior was broken, and all that remained was a tender and regretful maiden. Jin gave her a brief glance then looked around, watching as the gate swung open and Makoto came rushing out.

"I will tell you later, Tsubaki…For now, your friends have been waiting for you." He remarked only to her and himself before turning around and leaving Tsubaki to be in the company of Noel and Makoto. As he took a step forward, however, a voice spoke into his ears.

" _Even though time has differentiated from the norm, fate conspired to ensure that this encounter ends the same…The Power of Order trumps the might of the Immortal Breaker, and the shock of believing that she had killed the one she loved breaks the doll out of her possessor's control…"_

Jin widened his eyes and drew Yukianesa from the sheath, only to find himself in the midst of darkness. He looked around, keeping his cool as the blade was held out for safety, only to find a strange cloud of violet aura as his only company.

"Hmph, so it was you after all. You did an irritatingly good job impersonating that piece of trash Imperator, monster." Jin pointed the blade at the cloud, and a black crescent formed near the top with rounded "eyes" acting as it's smiling teeth.

" _Were you impressed, Jin Kisaragi? It's incredible how…_ _ **easy**_ _it is to copy another's voice when you pay enough attention to it."_

"What are you after, monster?" Jin had no patience for the being's games.

" _You've made a grave mistake on this day, Jin Kisaragi…I guess I was wrong to assume that you, who wields the Power of Order, would naturally reject the aid of the Phoenix of Destruction."_

"Hmph, so it's about that irksome child once more, is it? And what of him?"

The being's smile turned into a down-trodden frown, but something about it seemed more unnatural than normal.

" _You know as well as I do that his presence is unwarranted in this world. So long as he exists, your world shall only advance closer towards it's destruction. And yet, you would let him live, and deny your purpose…Is it because he lured you with the bait of salvation for the one you love? Or perhaps you are so arrogant that you believe a rabid beast isn't worth your time?"_

"You are the only one who is arrogant here, monster. You claim that child is a threat, yet it is only because of the things YOU'VE done that he stays here. If there's anyone who may lead this world to destruction, it is you…Youkai."

" _Hehehe…Sit too high on your throne, Jin Kisaragi, and you'll find that the gods will be waiting to knock you off it."_

"Oh? And do you truly believe that you are beyond judgment?"

" _I am far beyond the reach of such trite concepts. There is no 'justice' that can touch me, there is no 'order' to what I do…I exist only to satisfy my desires, and so long as you and all those in this world continue to satiate the whims of the Phoenix of Destruction…Then you shall be my enemies."_

"If you continue to interfere in the affairs of this world…" Jin gave the mass of energy a firm, confident glare while point his sword at it's head, "Then I will deny your very existence, and eliminate it for good."

" _Hahahah…You need naught worry about such meager affairs, Jin Kisaragi. I have done what I had set out to accomplish here. The rest I leave in 'his' hands. And soon enough…I won't even exist in_ _ **this**_ _universe. But for the finale of my time here, I will be content with sitting back and watching as your world_ _ **burns**_ _for all the misplaced trust you've put in the Phoenix of Destruction…Too bad none of you shall live to bear witness to your folly."_

The darkness faded around Jin, and he found that back in reality he was no longer holding onto his sword. His heart clenched up against his chest, and he looked around to make sure that those events he saw and heard had been real. Sure enough, a bit of time had passed, as the trio of friends were huddled together on the ground crying and apologizing to each other while Kagura watched on in silence.

Jin laid a hand on his hip and let out a sigh, which grabbed Kagura's attention with a degree of bewilderment.

"Something the matter there Jin?" Kagura approached him and smiled, "We won. Looks like Alex's plan worked out after all."

"…Don't you think this was a little too easy, Kagura?"

"Huh? Not…really?"

"…" Jin closed his eyes and lowered his head against his chest, murmuring to himself, "Perhaps my concerns are unwarranted…But I feel as though the worst is yet to come."

 _Next Time: Deny the Death_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Izanami I: The Six Heroes**

Back in the magic city of Ishana, Izanami and Relius observed the battle between Tsubaki and the others unfold from the sanctity of the Cauldron. Izanami's gaze was dull but laced with a subtle hint of curiosity, while Relius had a hand to his chin and gave it a short and contemplative rub.

"What appears to be the problem, Imperator?" He inquired with a slight glance towards her. Izanami closed her eyes and appeared a little bit perturbed.

"Yet another interloper dares to impede upon me…"

"Has the Elemental Overlord appeared? I could have sworn he would be with Terumi." Relius spoke with uncertainty, his gaze upon the battlefield robbed the moment Izanami closed hers.

"It is not that meddlesome child. No…the nature of this interloper eludes even my eyes." Izanami stated, looking towards the ceiling as Relius found even himself perplexed.

"Beyond even your sight? Could such a thing truly exist?"

"There are things in this world that even **you** have not bore witness to, Relius Clover…" Izanami gave a slight glance to the left then close her eyes once more, speaking with a peculiar and foreboding tone, "But this interloper appears to be beyond even those…"

"Hrrmmm…" Relius took a great deal of interest in this event, and with a wave of the hand out away from his chin he brought to attention, "Imperator, if I may…"

"Speak up, Relius Clover." Izanami responded with a little less patience than she had a moment ago.

"There is something that has been bothering me for a while now, ever since Terumi returned to us with that strange artifact in tow…" Relius' remark caused Izanami to twist her head to peer over her left shoulder and give him a firm glare.

"An artifact? Relius Clover…Why I am only learning of this now?"

"Forgive me, Imperator. I meant no harm in denying you this information until now…But I had only wished to tell you once I could properly substantiate towards my hypothesis." Relius approached her just a couple feet closer as she continued to take heed of his words.

"There has been something…off…about this whole affair to say the least. Even with the help of the Phantom, I have little reason to believe that Terumi could have defeated the Elemental Overlord. Yet, from my understanding, he had managed to wound him to the point of using him as a battering chip for the artifact."

"A most curious observation, is it not?" Relius flashed a smile at Izanami, who turned her body to the side and responded, "A most curious observation indeed, Relius Clover."

"It would suggest that Yuuki Terumi was not alone in his endeavors…Yet if naught you nor I, then who? Who would have had the audacity to conspire with him and undermine **my** authority?"

"I have reason to believe our present interloper and Terumi's co-conspirator are one in the same, Imperator. Based on my observation of the artifact, there are two souls inhabiting it…And one of the souls bears a rather similar energy to that which has possessed the Izayoi."

"Connecting the dots between this being's actions and Yuuki Terumi's means little to us if we cannot determine just what they are after, Relius Clover."

"I would rather not consider the possibility, loathsome as it is, but it may be that this being seeks to use **us** as pawns in whatever game they are playing."

"Then it is a game that _they_ shall lose…Both the interloper and Yuuki Terumi will be made to pay with their lives for this attempt at aberration from **my** design." Izanami decreed with overwhelming confidence.

"It is unfortunate, however, that we only determined this interference **after** the Izayoi and the Sword of Izanami has been left out of our possession." Relius remarked with the fingers of his right hand spread in a disgraceful manner before his forehead.

"I shall leave the reclamation of the Izayoi in your hands, Relius Clover. I, on the other hand, will tend to the matter of that traitor Yuuki Terumi _personally_. Like the cornered rat, he shall be left begging for his life to be spared…And I shall grant him **no** mercy."

"Heh, funny you say that, 'Imperator'." A gruff and jovial voice called out to the two, causing them to turn northward. Standing together with the glow radiating off the Cauldron truly exemplifying their magnificence were the Six Heroes, Hakumen, Platinum, Valkenhayn and Jubei. With them of course was Shina, who in the midst of pulling Kokonoe's helmet off and throwing it aside before she swung her right hand up and summoned her rapier to point at Izanami.

"'Cause it looks to me like the only cornered rats around here are you two." Jubei reached onto his back and pulled both blades of the Mushashi into his paws, while Hakumen drew Ookami, Platinum summoned Muchorin, and Valkenhayn held his claws out before his chest.

"Hmph, and now this problem can be added to our list…" Relius said with a slightly disheartened sigh before snapping his fingers to call Ignis to his side. Izanami looked at the gathered heroes and then glanced just a little at the helmet Shina dropped.

"So, the one called Kokonoe managed to find our location…" She had little concern in her voice, and instead sounded worn down by the continuous interferences that were plaguing her very being,

"That meddlesome Overlord has moved his pawns to the utmost precise degree…" Izanami reflected upon these events with an unsettling grin crossing her face, "But you may gather as many heroes as you wish, Overlord…All you shall accomplish with your transgressions is filling many a grave…"

She spread her hands out, the bones and joints in her body creaking like a broken machine, and glared at the gathered heroes with a piercing, otherworldly look in her eyes.

"Come to me, my Phantom!" With a boisterous, beckoning call from Izanami, a plume of fire rose up to the right of her body. Summoned from the depths of hell itself was the mystifying Phantom, who levitated above the ground with her presence concealed by the cloak that binds her.

"Nine…!" Jubei widened his eyes and quietly grumbled her true name out, and though offended by the atrocity that was her brought back to life like this he tried his damnedest to keep calm.

With their enemies gathered before them, Shina looked at them with her heart pounding against her chest. She was deaf to all other noise but that cacophonous rhythm, which only grew louder as she struggled to focus upon the deathly gaze of the callous goddess.

" _R-Relax Shina…! You can do this…! Alex believes in you, so believe in yourself too!"_ A sparse moment to motivate herself was interrupted by the invasive noise of Relius' voice as he addressed Izanami with curiosity.

"How shall we proceed, Imperator?"

"I shall leave Mushashi's wielder to the Phantom. Were I to leave his blades in my presence, this vessel would surely be broken. Is there anyone in particular you wish to examine, Relius Clover?" Izanami inquired with a glance in his general direction. The man laid a hand on his chin and scanned the heroes with an inquisitive hum to himself.

Even the battle-hardened Trinity found herself shaking as that gaze went her way, but it was nothing compared to the way Shina's body reacted to it. As he locked onto her with a small smirk, she could sense her legs turning to gelatin.

"The Aurian may prove to be a most interesting specimen. Perhaps I shall take her as my opponent…" As Relius made his intentions clear to all involved, Valkenhayn dashed in front of Shina with fangs bore in a scowl.

"You shall do no such thing, Relius CLOVER! Your opponent shall be me, and no one else!" He roared with all his vigor, and his presence eased Shina's mind just a bit. With Relius taking a moment to look on with interest, Valkenhayn glanced over his right shoulder and smiled.

"Calm yourself, Miss Aurora…An unsteady mind leads to an unsteady blade. You must be prepared to fight with the utmost certainty."

"…Aren't you scared, Valkenhayn?" Shina inquired, to which the man lowered his head a bit and admitted, "I believe we all are scared, one way or another."

"It's a battle of which we offer our very lives as the wager. But as long as we fight for the sake of the world we love, even against Death itself we shall overcome these impossible odds!"

When Valkenhayn made that boast so defiantly against his enemies, Relius couldn't help but smile and remark with fascination, "You've always provided such fascinating data, Valkenhayn. Even to this day, I still find myself interested in the nature of your illogical soul."

He waved his hand out away from his chin towards Izanami, inquiring to her with respect as equals, "Imperator…No, I suppose it'd be more courteous to refer to you by your true name, isn't it, Izanami?"

"Do as you wish, Relius Clover…" Izanami responded with a haughty, uncaring air around her.

"I shall deal with Valkenhayn. All I request is that you have the Phantom take us both to a location of my choice."

"Where do you wish to go? In her former homelands, the Phantom's powers can take you wherever your heart desires."

"Why, I believe the Hierarchical City of Akitsu-Ko will suffice. When I am done with this matter, I will resume my plan to reclaim the Izayoi." Relius stated, already certain with his victory. Izanami then waved her right hand towards the Phantom, whose cloak waved as she wrapped Relius, Ignis and Valkenhayn in a distorting veil of magic.

"May you be successful, Izanami." Relius remarked before he disappeared from sight. Izanami closed her eyes, appearing disinterested in the faith her ally had.

"As though I have reason to concern myself with the futile plight of these foolish mortals…" She peered open to look at the remaining heroes, her lips rising into a tiny smirk.

"The Six Heroes…Though, as of now, I suppose your numbers have been cut in twain." Her words were oozing with arrogance through a relatively monotone voice. Widening her eyes just a bit, she found herself intrigued by their presence.

"Answer me this…For what reason do you stand before me? Out of a malign view of 'justice'? To be rid of the weight of guilt past?" She closed her eyes and kept a smirk persisting between her words, "Or may you be nothing more than soldiers enlisted to fight in that child's foolish war?"

"That's not what's going on!" Shina exclaimed, her face red with anger at how ridiculous such an accusation came across as. Hakumen held a hand before her body for a moment and prevented her from saying anymore, even as Izanami opened her eyes and taunted her with a piercing glare.

"Oh? Then where is the young Overlord? It is not he who stands before me…No, from my perception, I see only fodder thrown out to die in the cold, uncaring wasteland, while he seeks only to satiate his grudge against the one who dared to oppose him…"

"Don't get too high on your horse there, Izanami," Jubei remarked without flinching at the sight of her deplorable face, "True, the kid may've asked us to fight, but it's not like we weren't ever gonna come after you at some point or another. You, Terumi, Relius…You've unbalanced the order of this world for far too long. The kid just gave us an opportunity to take you down sooner rather than later."

"Unbalanced the order of this world, you claim?" Izanami stared at Jubei, her smirked widening into a tight and malicious grin, "You dare say such things, knowing who I am, beastkin?"

Her eyes widened and the pupils shrank until she was projecting a subdued chill in her glare, which left Jubei trembling at the knees without knowing it.

"I **AM** …Order. I **AM** …the law. I **AM** …undeniable, whether I exist as flesh or concept makes little difference to this matter. Death IS an absolute, and thus…So am I."

"Death may be absolute, but it is arrogance to believe that you are the same…Izanami," Hakumen remarked while pointing his blade at her, his stance remaining resolute, "You are nothing more than a demon bound to this world through a man-made shell. Your existence sows only chaos, and for that it shall be denied by my blade."

"So speaketh the man chained to an armor that's not even his. You will find that denying my existence is merely hypocrisy on your part, _Jin Kisaragi_." Her acknowledgement of his true name did little to shake Hakumen, but he did not say a word further as the Death Goddess closed her eyes and continued.

"You claim I am a threat to this world…Yet you serve under those who would see this world burn just to satisfy their selfish desires. Whether the Master Unit or the Elemental Overlord, the dangers they pose to the 'Order' you so claim to enforce are threats that can't truly be ignored."

"Alex isn't a threat to anyone but evildoers like you! You're just saying all this cause you fear him!" Shina exclaimed with all her heart, yet her efforts only budged a smile from Izanami's face.

"Fear, you say? Death has no reason to fear anything, lest of all a mere child…I am simply speaking the truth…Even if my words cannot ever hope to pierce such a biased heart."

"Izanami…You claim that you are fighting for 'order'…But how can you say that when you ally yourself with the likes of Terumi and Relius, and deceive the world into believing you are a just ruler?" Trinity spoke up before Shina could get even more heated by Izanami's taunts.

"My role as the Imperator is but a means to an end…A veil with which I can guide the hapless sheep to their slaughter. Even those two, useful as they may be, are no different from the rest of the livestock to me."

"How could you say that?!" Trinity said with disbelieving outrage.

"Am I truly wrong, Platinum Alchemist?" Izanami opened her eyes and extended her hands out from the folds of her robe, gazing upon the room in it's entirety.

"Without a hand to guide them, humans become curious and self-destructive creatures, seeking only to satisfy their primordial desires…? Need I remind you that it was that very nature of theirs that led to the creation of the Black Beast? Or perhaps the existence of the Takamagahara System and the Master Unit, who have long since desecrated the flow of causality in this world, would suffice for an answer?"

"I admit…humanity is a flawed race, but it's not fair to judge the many for the sins of the few." Trinity spoke, saddened to admit that Izanami had a point.

"Why shouldn't humanity as a whole be judged? Just as they were all born from the seed of God's loins, so too were they cursed with the weight of sin by the Devil. So long as that weight exists in all man's hearts, they shall forever have the potential to ruin this world time and time again, incapable of learning from their flaws. And it is this very flawed world that the Master Unit has kept alive through countless centuries of recursions."

"So…you asked how I can possibly consider myself one who fights for 'Order', Platinum Alchemist? The answer is quite simple, really…" Izanami widened her eyes and with a fierce grin she proclaimed with grand authority, "When I have destroyed the Master Unit, it shall bring a true, definitive end to the dream she so savors! And with it's end, so too shall humanity and all of existence be brought to ruin! 'Chaos'! 'Law'! 'Order'! All of it shall be rendered inutile!"

She calmed herself for the end of her proclamation, laying her hands down against her body, "But you will defy me…Your desires have been laid bare before me. Even knowing your actions are wrong, you will fight for your own selfishness. It matters not…You shall simply be made examples of to those who still bear the will of defiance in their sinful hearts."

The heroes pointed their weapons at Izanami, who waved her right hand towards the Phantom and declared, "Your Imperator commands you, my Phantom! Deliver us to Ibukido so we can begin this battle!"

The Phantom complied without a moment's hesitation, wrapping everyone here in a wide-scale dimensional rift that sent them to the Hierarchical City in a nanosecond. Ibukido was nothing like all the other Hierarchical Cities Shina had been to so far. It was almost completely in ruins, with large-scale buildings having fallen into a sea of water and stone. Foliage had spread across these remains over the years, and the only building fully intact was a tower in the center that reached up for the heavens itself.

Even though the city had little to offer now, there were still a good number of people around either observing the ruins or working to start rebuilding it. Naturally, the sudden appearance of this entourage of heroes and villains made everyone in the immediate vicinity drop whatever they were doing and focus on them. The heroes looked around, taking heed of the presence of the civilians.

"Damn it! Don't tell me she's going these innocents as meat shields!" Jubei exclaimed, caught by surprise for once in his life. Izanami, however, just laughed such a notion off with a short and dry chuckle.

"Far from it…I have more impertinent methods in mind for making you squirm before I choke the life from your mortal bodies, heroes…" Izanami then crossed an arm before her chest and swung it out, rising above the ground as though to give off the vibe of a heavenly angel to those clueless enough to gaze upon her majesty. The Phantom was glued to her side, moving in perfect harmony until they both were levitating over the ruinous lakebed, the heroes left standing at the rocky coast.

Izanami then held her hand out towards the gathered crowd, through the Phantom projecting an echoing decree not just to this city, but all the Hierarchical Cities across the world.

"Citizens of this world! It is I, your glorious Imperator! It is with the utmost beseeching that I implore you all to bear witness to my decree!" As she began to speak, dozens of giant screens showing off the gathered heroes spread out across the city. More than likely, they were appearing in the other cities as well.

"I-It's us…!" Shina murmured in shock as she looked around at all the screens.

"What is she planning?" Trinity wondered right after.

"The NOL, **my** NOL…Is being targeted by a coup led by an outsider known as the Elemental Overlord! This heinous criminal has organized a treasonous assault on your truly, leading even the likes of Ragna the Bloodedge to try and undo the just laws I have put into effect! Even the Six Heroes, once our saviors, have joined under his destructive thrall to try and put an end to my life!"

Izanami watched with glee as the crowd turned their scornful glares towards the heroes, and with a forcibly hopeful grin she displayed on all the screens she finished her decree with a great deal of pride, "But you need naught fear for my safety. Far from it…For I shall personally attend to the execution of all who dare to oppose my order! So chant…chant my name, and I shall heed your desires!"

"Imperator! Imperator! Imperator! Imperator!" The crowd fell for the goddess' drivel like moths to the flame, pumping their fists into the air and filling the skies with their cheers. Trinity shook her head back and forth, in disbelief of what she was witnessing.

"H-How could they cheer for her?"

Shina, meanwhile, held her rapier close to the chest and shook her head, explaining to her comrade with eyes shut and body quivering, "They aren't doing this out of admiration…Their auras…Are afraid of her."

"Then it is our duty to shed the veil of deceit the Death Goddess has created…And expose the world to the truth." Hakumen hadn't lost his resolve in the slightest, and drew Ookami towards Izanami in the sky. She recognized the determination in his stance, but had another matter to attend to before dealing with him. Looking towards the Phantom, she raised her right hand towards their head.

"Your restraints shall be undone, my Phantom…So you may fight to the full extent of your capabilities to destroy the one you once loved!" Izanami drew her hand back and the Phantom was consumed in a veil of black flames as the center of her cloak parted. The shadows within were filled with a body of flesh and bone, the red glint of an eye blinking into view near the head.

Through the thick flames, the person's appearance could not be identified beyond them being female, but Jubei knew that the person he loved had been given life anew. As magical energies shot forth from the Phantom's body in the form of uncontrolled violet lightning, they set their sights on the beastkin and flew through the air after him, their visage that of a ghastly witch.

"…Good luck to you all. I pray we make it through this alive…" Jubei gave what may very well be his last words in this world then bit one of Musashi's blades into his mouth, getting on all fours and sprinting like a cheetah across the water's surface. With every splash he made he got closer to the witch, and thus closer to a battle he wished never had to be. Yet, through the shadows, Jubei could see an anticipating grin on their face as he leapt her way.

"Let us return to the place where it all began…" The 'Phantom' whispered right into his ear before enveloping them both in a dimensional veil and sending them to places unknown. Then, with their departure, Izanami floated back over to the heroes' general vicinity and tucked her hands into her robe.

"Now then…Shall I begin your punishment?" From nowhere, Izanami summoned forth three golden-purple triangle shaped drones and opened them up to aim at the heroes. With her spindly hand held out, she cracked a grin.

"The world shall bear witness to the folly of your defiance, 'heroes'…And your legend shall end with your demise."

Hakumen then stood still for a moment and then held Ookami before the front of his body, laying a hand near the top.

"Child of aura…Trinity…I shall leave the drones in your care."

"What are you going to do, Lord Hakumen?" Trinity inquired with a tilt of the head, losing her balance as Hakumen began to exude with raw power around his body.

"If the world is to bear witness to our battle, then I shall expose the truth of their 'Imperator', and show her the folly of her ways…" A wintery aura spread across his body as rubble rose up around him, reacting to the strength he gathered into his body.

"I **am** the white void…I **am** the cold steel…I **am** the just sword…With blade in hand shall I reap the sins of this world, and cleanse it in the fires of destruction! I AM Hakumen…The end has COME!" From his determination Shina gathered the strength to fight this battle even as fear gripped her very soul. With a firm nod she reached for her bracelet and tapped down on her Gunslinger Drive, changing into that form and drawing her pistols towards Izanami.

"We…are going to stop you, Izanami!" She proclaimed, locking her scouter onto the drones that stood in her defense. Throwing her hand out to the breeze, Izanami floated back a bit and responded in kind, "Fall to despair, interloper…And perish!"

Lightning charged within the cylindrical fronts of the drones, each one pointed at a different warrior. With a nod towards Shina, Trinity proclaimed, "Spread out, Miss Aurora!"

She responded in kind with a nod and leapt back while Trinity moved diagonally to the right, swinging Muchorin out and summoning a barrage of three large fireballs towards Izanami. The drone targeting her moved up and intercepted the flames, then fired a condensed laser of lightning in retaliation.

Trinity stamped the bottom of Muchorin against the ground and summoned a bubble of magical energies around herself. The lightning crashed against it and pushed her back while shattering the barrier, and the drone did not relent as it fired another shot off. Shina came to her rescue by shooting down the lightning with a shotgun blast, but had to quickly cock her gun forward and fire at the drone targeting her.

The shrapnel of the blast struck the barrel of the drone but didn't even leave a scratch on it, as it fired a lightning shot a moment after. Shina backflipped over the shot then switched to something with a little more kick, a rocket launcher. She landed with knees bent and hoisted the weapon atop her right shoulder. But as she aimed it at the drone, she saw Izanami floating to the side and considered firing at her.

The drone made the decision for her, however, by floating in between it's master and her and firing a lightning blast. Shina widened her eyes and performed a short hop back, dodging the lightning and firing a rocket into the drone's open barrel. A bright explosion of aura went off, and Shina swept her arms out and parted the launcher into two SMGs, waiting for the blast to fade before aiming her weapons at the undamaged drone.

" _This sucker's durable…Can my weapons even dent it?"_

Shina shook her head and flipped forward over a lightning blast, spinning around upside-down in mid-air and assaulting the drone with about a dozen or so bullets from her guns. She landed and swung her right leg out, watching as each bullet bounced off the surface of the drone. Then she summoned a sniper rifle and fired through a lightning blast to pierce into the barrel of the drone.

The drone was pushed back a couple inches but didn't sustain any damage. She then spun the weapon around and looked at Hakumen, who was having an easier time dealing with his drone. His blade was capable of scratching it every time it connected, which made it difficult for the drone to fire at him. The blade's reach also meant that the drone had to linger over the lakebed to keep away from him, but Hakumen's defense were still too thick to be penetrated by lightning alone.

In fact, he thought so little of the drones that his gaze was laser-focused entirely on Izanami, who continued to linger above the waters with a haughty air around her. Shina could tell that he wanted to reach her, but the distance between the ground and her was far too great for him to cross considering his limited mobility.

" _I have to help him…But how?"_ Shina tried to come up with a plan while using her agility to bob and weave past the blasts of lightning, which were becoming more spread out to try and deal with her movements. She looked at Platinum, who was fending off her drone with the greatest difficulty, and found inspiration for a plan.

"Trinity! Think ya can help Hakumen reach Izanami?"

"If I could deal with this drone, then I'm sure I could create something with Muchorin to assist Lord Hakumen…!" Trinity then used the Nox Nyctores to throw out two large cat-faced missiles at the drone. Each blast knocked the drone further away, but didn't budge it's position otherwise.

Shina sprinted over and summoned a pair of gunboots on her feet, launching towards that drone and slamming the heel on top of it. Pushing plenty of aura into the barrel, she drove the drone to the ground with a compressed burst while using it to flip back onto the ground.

"Go for it Trinity! I got your back!" Shina held her hands before her chest and kicked her right leg up towards the side of the drone she downed. She fired off two bursts from her boots in rapid succession, straining and cracking the bones in her leg from how fast the kick was going. She struck the side of the drone with all she had and knocked it up into the drone she had once been fighting, during that time Trinity sprinting past it to go join up with Hakumen.

"Thank you, Ms. Aurora," She offered up her praise before raising Muchorin skyward and proclaiming, "Lord Hakumen! Take these!"

Through the cumulative efforts of Trinity's brilliant mind and the Nox Nyctores, Hakumen was blessed with a pair of angelic wings on the back of his armor that were under his control. Trinity had to stand her ground and hold Muchorin in both hands to keep those wings materialized, and it didn't help that one of those drones broke away from Shina's unending onslaught of hard-hitting projectiles to try and target Trinity.

Izanami turned towards Hakumen and found herself curious by the change that had unfolded out of her sight. Yet, for the warrior, this change came naturally to him, and he quickly drew his sword behind his back and looked towards the Death Goddess.

"The world shall know the truth of who you truly are…Empty Sky Form…" Hakumen swung his sword forward, a single flap of the wings and the force of his swing enough to carry him to Izanami's position while he managed to deliver a broad slice across her body. She flinched for a moment and broke her concentration, causing the drones to drop to the ground.

"Winter's Riposte…!" Upon this declaration of Hakumen's, all who observed this battle saw a cut appear across Izanami's regalia, which made all but the detached sleeves and the white-red parts of her outfit fall down into the water. Underneath the veil of clothing that gave her such an authoritative presence was a sublime truth now exposed to the world that watched her.

Izanami's limbs were made up of doll-like joints with the consistency of plastic. Her legs, covered with leather black stockings, ended off with detached golden triangular feet. With skin pale as snow and a complexion sleek as steel, Izanami was nothing more than a puppet.

With Hakumen flying back to solid ground and holding his blade out from the length of his arm, he remarked to all who bore witness to this event, "This is the true form of your ruler. A being birthed from the darkness of Hell itself. Do you truly wish to offer servitude to her now?"

The crowd was grasped with silence as they staggered back, their expressions appalled by what they saw. Trinity looked towards Izanami and murmured, "This body is…Relius Clover's handiwork. I'm sure of it…"

"I-It's a…! What is this?!"

"Our leader was a doll?!"

"How could this be?!"

"What's going on?!"

The crowd filled the air with the sounds of frustration and confusion, no one able to provide them with answers. Yet, even as the world bore witness to the truth, Izanami could only crack a smirk and chuckle.

"So…you have exposed me for who I truly am." Her eyes widened in a frenzy and the drones began to shake before flying behind her back in a triangular position, unified together by a ring of yellow energy.

"I suppose now…I can stop wasting time on such _trivial_ formalities!" Izanami draped her arms to her sides and the crown on her head disappeared, replaced by a thick metallic purple horn on the forehead. She then raised her right hand up beside her head and the grin spread out across her face as a howling, deathly wind whipped through the city.

The on-looking crowd shivered all at once, and then found their faces bathed in a pale light that came from their feet. Looking down, they screamed at the sight of a ring of black and white flames ignited around each and every one of them. Their screams would grow louder and unfathomably horrified as they were burned down to even the very bone by the rising flames, with the heroes unable to do anything but watch this act unfold.

"N-No!" Trinity exclaimed, her face turning pale as she struggled to fight back the revolting smell of charring flesh that filled the air. Shina froze up, a chill creeping down her spine and rendering her body wobbling to the feet. She spun to face Izanami and shot at her with an endless onslaught of bullets from a pair of SMGs.

"How COULD you?! What did those people ever do to you?!" The bullets reflected off of Izanami's body, bothering her no more than a fly. With an uneven tilt of the head, Izanami grinned and seemed quite pleased with herself, more so once she began making another declaration to the observing world.

"Foolish humans that plague this world…Seeing how I am no longer forced to endure this inane façade, it is time you know the truth…" Izanami lifted her head and widened her eyes, projecting a majestic golden light around her body to accentuate her godly demeanor.

"I…am Hades;Izanami! I am Death itself, born into this world from the sinful pursuits of man! I exist only to bring judgment upon you worthless souls who have long since overstayed their welcome in this stagnant world! Know well, that when I have tended to your champions, I shall bring ruin to your precious Master Unit, and extinguish any remaining embers of hope! And you have only yourselves to blame for your destruction…"

Shina's face tensed up and she kept firing at Izanami to no effect, tears being forced forth from her eyes at how callous she was. Yet, Hakumen would then walk in front of her and take the brunt of a dozen or so bullets before she stopped. Panting, she lowered her weapons while Hakumen pointed his blade towards Izanami and held no doubt in his mind.

"Child of aura…Do not succumb to anger. Draw upon your true power…The power of hope capable of surpassing even Death itself."

Hakumen's words were a necessary step for Shina to calm down and, with the smelting embers of death surrounding her, she remembered the gravity of the situation and nodded her head.

"Right…We won't let her get away with this!" She slammed down on the Valkyrie Drive with all her vigor, transforming in a bright flash of holy light before Izanami's eyes. Once donned in the armor of the holy warrior with giant blade in hand, Shina stepped beside Hakumen and glared up at Izanami past the left side of her head.

"Izanami…We will defeat you, and bring peace back to this world!"

"Try as you might…Death…Is unconquerable!"

 _Next Time: Eternal Suffering_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Nine the Phantom I: Family Feud**

Thanks to the 'Phantom's' teleportation, Jubei and her ended up on the eastern part of the continent, on the now desolate country of Japan. In particular, the 'Phantom' chose to send the two of them into a desecrated laboratory buried deep, deep underground. After the dimension veil had parted from sight, the two split apart from each other with a clash of blade and fire, skidding along the ground until they stood ten feet from on another.

Jubei paused and glanced around, taking in all sights while he had a chance to. Hundreds of dusty, worn-down computers lined the walls, the floors rusted over to such a degree that it was a wonder that standing on them didn't cause them to cave in outright. In the center of a room was a large cylindrical chamber leading to a shattered, inactive Cauldron, and attached to the ceiling was a machine that appeared to be capable of pouring energy into said Cauldron. Devoid of light and sound, this place was more akin to a graveyard than a place of science.

Yet despite the damage done to it over countless years, Jubei knew exactly where he had been sent to, "This place…It can't be!"

"You remember this place, don't you, my lover?" The 'Phantom', still wrapped in the flames of dark power, stood across from Jubei with a clear and present demeanor of superiority over him. Her voice was a little deep and twisted, as though her throat was scratched up.

"How could I ever forget?" Jubei stated, holding the blades in both hands as he looked towards the pit of the Cauldron, "This is where it all began…The birthplace of the Black Beast."

"And the laboratory of Shuichiro Ayatsuki, my bastard of a 'father'." The 'Phantom' raised her right hand up, revealing that her fingers were long and sharp like jagged knives, and summoned a ghastly dark red and yellow flame in her palm.

"And it'll be here that I shall bury you forevermore, Mitsuyoshi."

"Nine…Is this really what you want to do?" Jubei inquired, closing his eye and a bit of melancholy seeping through his stoicism.

"Are you hesitating?" Nine stated, her brows raising through the shade of flames surrounding her, "Oh, I see…You believe I'm still under Izanami's control, don't you?"

A devilish smirk broke through the darkness, while her left iris glowed a pale yellow, surrounded by a hollow black sclera, "The moment she broke my restraints, I was able to undo the Mind Eater spell she had placed upon this vessel. I can assure you, this is a decision I am making on my own… _my dear_."

"You can't be serious! Nine…what the hell happened to you?" Jubei stared at her with understandable confusion, as the woman in front of him was a far cry from the person he had loved. Before he could get an answer, however, another voice surprised the two with a swift announcement.

"Tager! Activate the Eclipse Field, now!"

Nine spun around and watched as a domed barrier surrounded her and Jubei. This barrier greatly illuminated the atmosphere with an azure glow while simultaneously creating a black floor filled with aquamarine hexagon tiles. The walls of the dome were filled with complex formulas and marks, the signature of it's creator, who stood at the edge of the dome opposite of her father Jubei and looked into the eyes of her mother.

"I knew you'd show up here…Nine." Kokonoe said, a tired and seemingly distant look in her eyes despite the affectionate terms she addressed Nine with.

With the presence of this Eclipse Field, the dark flames surrounding Nine parted to reveal her appearance in full. She kept the Phantom's witch hat but now had a slit in the front of it accentuated by a pink fabric. Her hair was the same shade of pink as Kokonoe's, but was long and wild. Around her neck is a purple collar with an attaching magenta cape, while below that is a short revealing purple and pink dress matching with two separate long sleeves, black gloves, long black curved leggings with dark purple trimmings and dark purple heeled slippers. She was tall and slender save for her chest, which pushed out the barely covering fronts of her dress.

Upon looking at her daughter, Nine cracked a smile and laid her right fingers on the edge of the hat, "My my…how tragic. Back in the day, you called me 'mother'. But I supposed it's true, we haven't seen each other in about a 100 years. And…that callousness is much more fitting for my daughter."

Kokonoe lowered her eyes into a piercing stare, which excited Nine to the point of her sclera glowing red, "I also hated my parents. They were both insolent and egotistic. Truly…we end up taking after those traits we'd wish not to, no matter how hard we resist."

Nine then looked around, taking great interest in the field that ensnared her, "This 'Eclipse Field' of yours…It reminds me a lot of the Izayoi's Zanki Barrier."

She then looked to her daughter and pondered, "Let me guess? You created this barrier to prevent me from escaping?"

"So long as this is up, no one can get in, and no one can escape. Not even the Great Mage Nine could create a spell powerful enough to break it." Kokonoe spoke with great confidence towards herself.

Lowering the edge of her hat to cover her eyes, Nine let only her smirk project what she was thinking, then gave the hat a slight twist to the right as she jerked her head back.

"Impressive…But you do understand that means you're trapped in here with me, right?"

"That was the plan all along." Kokonoe noted while scratching the back of her head. Nine then glanced back at Jubei, twisting her body to give him her full attention.

"What a 'beautiful' family reunion this has turned out to be, hasn't it? All of us gathered here, in that bastard's lab of all places, for the sole purpose of killing each other!"

"Nine, it doesn't have to be like this. I don't know why you're acting this way, but we're **not** your enemies!" Jubei tried to reach out to the kindness he knew his wife was capable of, but Nine just met his words with a callous glare and small frown before giving him a pitying shake of the head.

"An optimistic fool as always, Mitsuyoshi…Though, I suppose that is part of the reason I fell in love with you so long ago."

"Cut it out with the sentimentality already old man," Kokonoe interrupted with a curt remark, drawing Nine's attention towards her, "Weren't you the one saying this 'Phantom' was a mockery of Nine's legacy that needed to die?"

"Oh? Is that so?" Nine glanced over her shoulder at Jubei, who hung his head in shame and admitted, "I did say that…But now? Now I'm not so certain about that. The person in front of me may look and sound different from the woman I loved…But I can't get the similarities out of my mind. There's just some things that a mere 'mockery' can't replicate."

"How sweet…It almost brings a tear to my black heart." Nine went from taunting to callousness in a second, cracking a smirk while gripping the edge of her hat and lowering it to cover her face.

"But it's a waste of time. The 'Nine' you knew all those years ago died the moment Yuuki Terumi threw her body into the Boundary."

"And just why is that?" Kokonoe's question grabbed her mother's attention again, and as she waved her lollipop around beside her face she pressed her with an addendum to that inquiry, "You seem to remember your own past. Your appearance and voice are barely different from what I remember, and considering you got all the way to Japan from Ibukido means you hold the same incredible power as you once had. So how **are** you any different from the Great Sage Nine?"

"Hehehe…I suppose it boils down to what I have learned since my death all those years ago. You see, though my body eventually decayed within the Boundary, my soul lived on, fueled by the sheer _hatred_ I bore towards Teurmi's betrayal. And as I lingered in that wretched void, my soul was infused with knowledge far beyond mankind's understanding…Knowledge that explained the truth of this world of ours, and showing to me just how futile our struggle against the Black Beast truly was."

"Pointless? What're you talking about?!" Jubei yelled, his tone completely flabbergasted in nature.

"To know that, one must go back in time…To an era that existed far before the Dark War occurred." Nine waved her right hand up and summoned a particular type of flame that projected imagery that matched the story she would tell.

" _Long ago, humanity strove to control an incredible power they had discovered deep within the Boundary. To that end, they created the first Prime Field Devices, each one wielding the Eye of the Azure. But in their hurry to claim the ultimate power, the humans had accidentally allowed the Prime Field Devices to gain souls and self-awareness, and thus came to fear their power. The Prime Field Devices were thrown into the Boundary, and they hoped they would all be destroyed…"_

" _But that would not be the case. One exceptional Prime Field Device, who would later come to be known as 'The Origin', latched itself onto the great power that humanity sought…The Master Unit, Amaterasu. Fear drove humanity to fight this 'God' that they had created, as they were right to assume 'The Origin' would hold a grudge for the demise of her sisters. Yet, in spite of that, 'The Origin' only wished for her and her sisters to be recognize as individuals."_

" _In a move to eliminate the Prime Field Devices, humanity created both the Izayoi and something far, far worse than anything that would ever be seen in this world again…The original Black Beast. Indiscriminate, the Black Beast devoured all in it's path, leaving a world with nothing left in it but death. Yet, this too was humanity's plan. For before they engaged in this suicidal war, they had created the Takamagahara System, hoping that it would obtain the power of the True Azure in the aftermath of the war and rebuild the world without the existence of the Prime Field Devices."_

" _But then the unexpected happened…The Takamagahara System was intercepted by 'The Origin', who used the power of the True Azure to rebuild the world. Even after humanity denied her individual, she recreated the world with them in it, using the Black Beast as a catalyst."_

"The world was destroyed?! That's impossible!" Kokonoe blurted out with howling disbelief, "An event that cataclysmic would've been recorded in history!"

"Oh my dear, _naïve_ daughter…Haven't you ever heard the phrase 'History is written by the winner'?" Nine stated with a smirk before continuing her tale.

" _Though the world was saved, the Master Unit had made certain to erase humanities' memories of the Prime Field War, never wishing for that horrid battle to occur again. Yet in doing so, she had managed to disconnect humanity from the Takamagahara System, granting it sentience all of its own. Thus the Master Unit, which could perform phenomenon intervention on a world-wide scale, and the Takamagahara System, which could rewind time, were forever lost to humanity."_

" _One would think this was a blessing. After all, the world was saved, and humanity would never again consider the possibility of attempting to harness the power of 'God'…But their savior wasn't some divine being sent from the Heavens…No, it was a scared and pitiful little 'girl' who was now forever bound to a machine, forced to Observe the 'dream' she had created."_

" _For a long time, 'The Origin' Observed this 'dream', all the while wanting nothing more than to be freed from what was to her a 'nightmare'. Her desire for a 'hero' to rescue her would one day be answered, as the 'Centralfiction' was born into the world almost eighty years after the Dark War. The 'hero' reminded 'The Origin' of her brother, who had been forced to become the Black Beast all those years ago."_

"' _The Origin's' desire to meet this hero gave birth to a 'sister' for the 'hero' to have. Through this 'sister', 'The Origin' hoped to guide the 'hero' to a point in time where he could save her. However, the 'hero' would always wind up becoming one with the 'devil', turning into the 'monster' that would devour the world whole, and bringing a repeat to the nightmare that 'The Origin' had once saw."_

" _When Takamagahara use Take-Mikazuchi to destroy the 'monster', 'The Origin' destroyed the world she Observed and rebuilt it from the start of the Dark War, which was the origin point for the 'hero's' birth. However, in doing so, the 'monster' that lingered in the old world ended up in the past of this new one. And this would repeat, time after time after time again, until the 'Calamity Trigger', a being who had inherited a fragment of 'The Origin's' soul, would break the ties of endless recursion and rescue the 'hero'."_

"Wait a sec…This is starting to sound familiar. Where've I heard this story before…?" As Jubei closed his eyes and began to ponder, Nine was ecstatic to provide answers.

"Why, you should know the characters of this 'play' all-too well, Mitsuyoshi…The 'Centralfiction'…The 'hero' that 'The Origin' wishes to have save her…Is none other than that accursed Grim Reaper…Ragna the Bloodedge!"

"Ragna the Bloodedge?!" Kokonoe and Jubei both blurted out, their bodies overtaken with a sense of surprise and dread.

"That's right…So long as he is alive, 'The Origin' will continue to maintain this world…But the moment she is dissatisfied with the results, she'll tear this world to the ground and start over, and to hell with the people who live inside of it!" Without warning, Nine snapped and both her eyes flared up with a hellish disdain. The fire projected off her palm rose up until it was a pillar grazing the ceiling of the barrier.

"Every time she resets the world, everything has to play out like it did before…That means the world is ravaged by the Black Beast, Terumi is allowed to betray and kill me and Trinity, those ACCURSED Prime Field Devices are developed by Relius Clover, Izanami forces the Ikaruga Civil War to occur…"

The image of a church ravaged by fire appeared in the flames, inside of it a nun with concealed red hair getting burned alive. Nine's expression twisted into a scowl, her skin wrinkling until it looked no longer human.

"And my sister…My dear, dear sweet _Celica_ …Dies again…!"

The image repeated within the flames.

"And again…!"

Then once more.

"And AGAIN…!"

It began repeating at a frantic pace, and Nine's jaw stretched until the bones inside cracked.

"AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN!"

She crushed the flames between her elongated fingers, going into a brief period of silence as her hand wobbled before her face. Then, she smirked and began laughing, all her haughtiness being nothing more than a cover for madness she could no longer control.

"Hahahah…! How RICH is that?! That all of us, especially my sister, are nothing more than unimportant FODDER in that entitled's wretches' dream?!" She bent over and grabbed the front of her hat, hiding her bellowing laughter as Kokonoe and Jubei could only watch without a word capable of reaching their tongues.

"So, Mitsuyoshi…Hehehe! …You asked me how our fight was pointless…? What better proof do you need than that, hmmm? All our struggles, every last ONE OF THEM, mean nothing to the Master Unit. She's the 'Author' of her own story, and she chose from the very start who her 'hero' would be, and that the rest were nothing more than 'bit characters' that can be disposed of whenever things don't go her way!"

Nine then swung her arm out and glared at Jubei while yelling at him, "Such callousness…Is SICKENING! And I refuse to just stand by and let that entitled child continue to damn our world to endless oblivion!"

She then looked over her shoulder and saw Kokonoe hanging her head and appearing to be in thought, "Wouldn't you agree, daughter?"

"…Can't believe I'm saying this, but you're asking too much out of me…" Kokonoe scratched the side of her head and then gave it a couple shakes, "Yeah, what the Master Unit's doing is bullshit, but she's also the only thing keeping this world alive. Without her, we'd all be dead…Is that what you'd want, Nine?"

"Hahaha…! The Master Unit isn't the only means around to keep the world alive."

"What're you talking about?" Jubei inquired.

"Not long after the Dark War occurred, I began developing an 11th Nox Nyctores in secret. I called it 'Corpus Sepulcro: Requiem'. It's the ultimate Nox Nyctores, greater in power than even Take-Mikazuchi itself! With it, I could replace the Master Unit, and even kill Izanami! Then, no longer would the world have to worry about that worthless 'hero' or her accursed 'dream'."

"Where the hell could you've even built such a weapon? Someone had to have found it by now." Jubei noted, to which Nine smiled and slowly twisted her head back towards Kokonoe.

"Why don't you ask our daughter where it is, Mitsuyoshi…" Jubei stared at Kokonoe with a couple surprised blinks.

"What? You know where Requiem is?"

"…Yeah, I do. Right here, inside of the Cauldron, is Nine's personal laboratory. I can imagine that the Requiem is hidden in there."

"Oh, so you didn't know that _it_ was in there. Still, to deduce that my lab was here of all places is quite brilliant, my daughter." Nine was a little bit impressed, but Kokonoe wasn't receptive to the praise in the slightest.

"Hell, the only reason I built Sector Seven here was to protect your lab from those who'd seek to abuse it, mo-…Nine." Kokonoe then crossed her arms before her chest and closed her eyes, "But I can't say I'm a fan of your plan for 'Requiem'."

"For one, the amount of Seithr necessary to fuel something on the same level of Master Unit is far, FAR greater than that of the Black Beast. And to create a world-wide phenomenon intervention afterwards would mean you'd need to build up a lot of potential energy inside of Requiem. If there's even a slight mishap, then Requiem could short-circuit and annihilate not just the planet, but the moon as well in the ensuing blast."

"…And so what if it could?"

"Excuse me?!" Nine's nonchalant response angered Kokonoe, who glared into the eyes of her mother as she put on a serious expression and prepared a response.

"The benefits far outweigh the risks. So long as the Master Unit is extinguished from this world, I couldn't care less about what happens along the way."

"Or who you kill along the way either, huh?" Kokonoe said, a snippet of disappointment in her voice. Nine smiled her way and twisted her hat to the right.

"You would know me better than anyone, wouldn't you? In many ways, we're very alike."

Kokonoe lowered her head and closed her eyes, grumbling a little to herself before speaking to Nine, "Even so, I'd never risk the safety of the world for the sake of stopping the Master Unit. If we think the same way, as you say, then you know there has to be other options to explore."

"Then go ahead, my dear naïve daughter…I'm all ears."

"…" Kokonoe was silent, meeting her mother with nothing more than a dull and tired stare. Nine shook her head and gave a curt shrug of the shoulders.

"As I thought. You're just spewing bullshit."

"There's no doubt in mind that if given a chance, our daughter would figure out a better way of replacing the Master Unit," Jubei spoke up in Kokonoe's defense, leaving her and Nine looking at him in shock, "Nine, you can't go through with using the Requiem. I won't allow it."

"You'll have no choice in the matter, Mitsuyoshi…Unless you think the two of you can stop me."

"…If I don't have any choice, then I will…But I will do so for your good as well as the rest of the world's." Jubei swung his blades out in the grip of his paws and hunched over, staring deep into Nine's frosty glare with a burning one of his own. A shiver crept through Nine's body, and she then laid a hand on the edge of her hat and began slowly swaying her hips back and forth.

"Ah, that ferocity…I haven't witnessed it for almost a century. Very well, lover…I have no qualms with killing either one of you since you plan to get in my way."

"We'll stop you here, Great Sage Nine." Kokonoe put her lollipop inside of her pants pocket and laid the other hand against her hip, taking a moment to adjust her glasses back into place.

Nine smirked, and with a brush of her other hand against the air weaved a few wreathes of fire around her body, "Thanks to that bratty Overlord's machinations, both Izanami and Yuuki Terumi are occupied. Once I deal with you both, I'll be in the prime position to enter my lab and activate the Requiem. Today…The Master Unit's entitled 'dream' shall come to an end!"

Nine faced Kokonoe first and swung her hand out, sending the wreathes of fire out one at a time towards Kokonoe. The Grimalkin closed her eyes and snapped her fingers, a red metal ring appearing from nowhere and sliding down her body to make her disappear. A second ring appeared in front of Nine and Kokonoe was summoned out of it with a jet-propelled drill on a stick grasped in her hands.

Kokonoe flew up and swung the drill towards Nine's chin, but she vanished in the nick of time by slipping into a disappearing puff of fire and reappearing more northbound. Kokonoe widened her eyes and stabbed her drill into the ground after it made a full rotation around her body, bracing herself as Nine summoned a mighty whirlwind with just a flick of her right wrist.

Swifter than the winds called forth, Jubei ran into the eye of the whirlwind and slashed it down the center as though it was a physical force. The winds being split gave Kokonoe the ability to stand up, and she threw her drill weapon back into a hyperspace pocket to replace it with a couple of rectangular missile launchers on her shoulders.

"Out of the way old man!" Kokonoe exclaimed as a blunt warning as a buttoned trigger swung into each of her hands, the thumbs stuck firmly on top. Jubei bent over and swung his blades behind his back, a glint reflecting off their peerless steel.

"Hey, don't sell your 'old man' short kid! I ain't the world's strongest for nothing!" With a slice of the blades outward in combination with a backflip during the span of a second, Jubei cut the very air itself to the point of drawing energy out from an unknown dimension and summoning an X-Shaped projectile that flew towards Nine at the speed of light.

The mage bit her lower lip and warped to the right with only the left of her shoulders being nicked by the top of the attack. As blood shot forth from the wound, Nine swung her head forward and saw a barrage of tiny missiles flying her way from multiple directions. She kicked off the ground and spread her cape, dodging the initial onslaught by taking flight around the encompassing barrier. Keeping away from the next wave of missiles by bobbing and weaving like an agile sparrow, Nine held her needle-y fingers across the breadth of her chest and weaved electricity between them.

When she saw an opening, she spun until her body was sideways and lashed her hands out, launching an interweaving web of lightning straight towards Kokonoe. The Grimalkin responded by throwing her missile launcher into the same space it came out of and calling forth a scooter from a pocket before her feet. She hopped on it and ducked under the lightning by leaning forward and taking off, the lightning leaving ashen blasts in her wake.

Taking out a rag from the center of her scooter, Kokonoe gave her forehead a brief wipe then hopped off, letting the scooter roll into a hyperspace portal while she skid to a stop using the back of her heels. She then looked up at her mother, watching as she prepared an even stronger lightning spell that rocked the atmosphere during it's creation.

However, as she was in the middle of that, Jubei had began running up and along the wall to keep up with her errant flight, one blade sheathed and the other in his mouth. From the corner of her eye Nine saw him coming and turned the lightning upon him, summoning a series of orbs with a couple rings of electricity surrounding them that made them magnetically attracted to Jubei's swords.

Jubei winced and then stabbed his mouth sword into the barrier, leaping back to allow the electric orbs to go to it and be absorbed into it's metallic frame. In the second it took for the electricity to then subside, Jubei turned and swung a tail out to latch onto it, pulling himself back in and vaulting off towards Nine while simultaneously wrenching the sword out.

He sheathed that blade into the bottom of his hilt and pulled the one up top, focusing on Nine with an iron-willed glare while holding the sword back in one paw. Nine flew backwards, cupping her hands before her chest and condensing fire between the palms. When the crisp cracklings of embers filled her ears, she grinned and then unleashed a hellish barrage of tiny fireballs towards Jubei.

The fireballs peppered into his body like a set of firecrackers going off, pushing him away before he could even attack. Once Jubei had been carried to the wall, Nine suspended herself in place and threw her hands above her hat, now summoning the power of the deadly frost into her fingertips. She wasted little time in aiming towards Jubei, who was in the midst of peeling off the war, and unleashing a trio of thick and sharp icicles at his body.

Halfway to their target, the icicles were destroyed by a short lasting spray of gatling bullets, and after a curious pucker of the lips Nine glanced over her right shoulder and saw Kokonoe pointing a portable gatling gun at her. She smiled and stayed still, swinging her right hand out and summoning a fancy rectangular lilac mirror that absorbed the bullets until Nine slammed her palm against the back of it to reflect them.

Kokonoe stored the gun back into a rift and then whipped out a small gun with a light blue spherical chamber on top. The sphere was emptied as she sprayed forth a cone of icy wind, which turned all the bullets into icy streaks suspended in mid-air. Nine called the mirror away with a twist of the wrist and then turned her gaze to the left, noticing Jubei coming after her once more.

With blade gripped in mouth, he pounced off the wall and aimed for Nine's midsection. She flew back and to the left, her neck muscles tensing up at the tip of the blade was centimeters from cutting into them. Her mind was thrust into a brief state of panic, which Kokonoe was swift to take advantage of by snapping her fingers and opening two hyperspace pockets directly below her mother. A dozen or so steel chains flew out and wrapped themselves around Nine's legs, their cold touch snapping her back to reality just in time for Kokonoe to start dragging her towards the ground.

Nine grit her teeth and swung her right hand downward, summoning a miniature sword of fire to cut through the chains with but a mere snap of the fingers. When her bindings were broken and scattered to the winds, Nine spread her cape and made a clean landing on the ground. She then immediately looked at Kokonoe and pulled her hat off, spinning it around on her right pointer finger.

"Do you honestly believe your science can possibly hope to match my magic, daughter?"

"It won't just match it…" Kokonoe punched her hands into a pair of hyperspace rifts beside herself, pulling out mechanical rocket fists that she pointed at her mother, "It'll blow it out of the friggin' water!"

She fired the fists off straight at Nine, shattering through the frozen bullets while the sorceress closed her eyes and cracked a smirk, throwing her hat skyward before disappearing in a puff of flames to avoid the fists. She reappeared a couple inches behind where she stood, then waited until the bottom of her hat was pointed towards Kokonoe. With an open palm she slammed against the top of the hat and pushed it down, unleashing a pink cylindrical beam of raw magical energy towards her daughter.

Kokonoe pulled out a large riot shield from a hyperspace pocket and held it up in both hands, using it to absorb the brunt of the energy even as her body was dragged back along the ground. The front of the shield was seething red after, but Nine was nowhere near done. With a gentle step back, Nine thrust the back of her right heel into the hat and fired off an even larger beam that heated the shield to the point that it burned Kokonoe's hands and forced her to let go.

"Ghh…!" Kokonoe shook her hands, which were smoking off the skin, until they were cooled down, the shield melting into liquid goop at her feet. Nine appeared in front of Kokonoe, standing in the puddle of steel without being the least bit immobilized.

With a swift gasp, Kokonoe had little time to get out of the way as Nine grinned and swung her hot metal coated left foot into her daughter's forehead with a high-rising kick. Kokonoe was knocked back, drippings of metal being imprinted on her skin and burning into it with enough pain to make it harder for her to concentrate.

Then, with fire swirling in a violet tornado around her bent leg, Nine stamped down on the ground and a rift to a hellish realm opened up above where Kokonoe ended up. Wreathed in pure, scorching heat, an ogre-ish fist came crashing through to smash her into paste. Kokonoe laid her hands on the ground and prepared to roll away, but the pain ruined her timing and left her vulnerable.

A single, blurring leap, Jubei crossed hundreds of feet and sliced through the middle of the demonic arm with a blade in his mouth. The fist retreated into the rift with it's knuckles just an inch from Kokonoe's body, while Jubei landed on all fours and continued sprinting, performing a u-turn and lifting up on his hind legs while pulling both blades out and dashing right at Nine.

Upon seeing him coming she pulled her hat off her head and waved it out to throw a seed at the ground. It planted and sprouted into a square yard worth of foliage, complete with vines that ensnared Jubei by the hind legs the moment he stepped onto it. The bones in his kneecaps cracked, and he jerked to a halt in the center of the foliage. Nine then warped in front of him and swung both her legs up one at a time, kicking the blades out of Jubei's grasp.

"I never should've created those bothersome swords…" Nine remarked as the sounds of them falling to the ground rung in her ears. She then raised her right hand up and lit the palm on fire, smirking down at her lover as the sclera of her eyes glowed a malicious red.

"Oh well, there's nothing they can do to me now, Mitsuyoshi." As Nine was a moment away from bringing a cataclysmic blaze upon Jubei, the beastkin arched his brows and focused his gaze on his wife's abdomen. Then, with his ears perking up and his feral nature projected through his glare, he swung both his paws swift and hard into Nine's gut, the air behind her compressing into the shape of a roaring lion's head.

Nine's concentration on all her magic was disrupted, and she stumbled back with both arms coiled in front of her stomach. She took a couple steps back and a light trickle of blood came out of her mouth. Jubei stood his ground and calmed down a bit, explaining to her, "I was a beastkin long before I was a swordsman Nine…My paws work just as well against my enemies as my blades."

Nine bit her teeth down and quivered, a smile slowly crossing her face. She looked up, watching as Kokonoe came flying at her with a large jackhammer wrapped around her right arm. Before she was pile driven into the ground, Nine vanished in a puff of flame and reappeared high in the air, her long legs crossed outward while she laid the tips of her fingers against each other before her chest.

"This has been far more exhilarating than I could've ever anticipated. You are making me work for my victory, that much is certain." She grinned nice and wide while Jubei reclaimed Musashi and Kokonoe threw the jackhammer into a hyperspace rift, then both of them looked up at her.

"Fufufu…But now it's time for the kids' gloves to come off, my dears…" The edges of her cape ruffled out as a magic seal opened below Nine's legs. Flames shot forth from the seal, and the bull-horned charcoal colored head of a demon emerged forth. It had four golden, motionless dotted eyes and incredible power. Even just it's head coming out was enough to shake the domed domain.

Sitting herself atop the head of this mighty demon, Nine exclaimed, "Come, Hi no Kagutsuchi, and let us burn this accursed 'dream' to ashes!"

As it let out an unintelligible roar, the air trembled with shockwaves of air that left Kokonoe and Jubei speechless as they stood beside each other and stared up at their enemies, unable to tell how they would fare with this new addition to Nine's spectacular arsenal…

 _Next Time: What We Were Before_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Relius Clover I: Theatre to the Sublime**

Two years ago, the 9th Hierarchical City of Akitsu-Ko was attacked by Ragna the Bloodedge. In the ensuing battle with the Grim Reaper, the NOL failed to stop him from destroying it's Cauldron, which had cataclysmic effects on the city's environment. Now, the city was a permanent winter wonderland, with snow piled up in mounds across all the buildings spread throughout. Thankfully, the people of the city have gotten used to the changes, even if the population had dwindled from migrations in the meantime.

But on this day, the cheery populace would find themselves surprised by the sudden appearance of Valkenhayn and Relius in the center of their snowy dominion. Valkenhayn looked up at the aurora lights radiating the sky and then shivered as the chill latched onto his skin like an airborne parasite. With a foggy breath he looked at Relius and growled, "So, you expect me to simply keel over from the cold, eh, Relius?"

"Nothing as coarse as that, Valkenhayn, I know all too well you could survive even the coldest climates." Relius, with a simple and nonchalant smile, gestured his right hand out from his shoulder and then turned around, his cape waving out in the wind.

Valkenhayn hunched over and his hands turned into hairy claws, and with fangs bear he demanded to know, "And just where do you think you're going?!"

As he made a lunge forward, Relius snapped his fingers and Ignis intercepted the werewolf with claws raised limp beside her head. Valkenhayn took pause a couple feet away from the doll and stared into her lifeless eyes, unable to predict what her attack would be. He stood upright and took a couple steps back, the fur of his claws disappearing as he held them close to his chest.

"I hardly have any intention of running away, if for whatever inane reason that concerns you."

"Hmph, I barely see reason to concern myself with your detestable mannerisms, Relius Clover. The man I once stood beside as both partner and friend perished a century ago, replaced by this heartless…savage!" Valkenhayn denied the past with brutal disinterest, but that merely brought a tiny grin to Relius' face.

"How humorous…You of all people would label me a savage?" He then turned to his side and tucked his right arm into the cape, using the left one to rub his chin, "The years of my youth have not escaped my grasp, Valkenhayn…I remember all too well what kind of beast you were before. Unruly, merciless…You were fully succumbed to your primal heritage."

"…And yet, beyond all logical reasoning, you were able to defy what had been naturally ingrained into your soul from birth, and changed into something completely different…A loyal butler, chained to the selfish demands of those vampires you once swore to kill with your bare hands. That indescribable and unexplainable change still baffles me to this day."

"It baffles you only because it's a concept that has far since escaped your purview, Relius Clover. As you are, you will never hope to fathom the full depths of our 'souls' nor of one's ability to change who they are!"

"Is that so?" Humored to the point of widening his smirk, Relius laid a hand across the front of his mask and remarked, "Perhaps it is you whose perception is lacking, Valkenhayn."

With a stoic demeanor, Relius turned to face the werewolf head-on and gestured his right hand towards him, continuing on with an explanation that only his mind could have produced, "You believe that a soul is something that has 'depth'? Or that a being can naturally 'change' what is a part of them?"

With a dry, disapproving scoff, Relius commented on his own inquires with a simple, "Hardly…"

"A soul is not a 'thing'…It is nothing more than an 'object', something to be manipulated…Molded and crafted by beings outside the realm of logical reasoning. And if a soul, the essence of a human's self, is nothing more than an 'object'…Then how is humanity as a whole no better than toys to be played with by the whims of those illogical beings?"

As Valkenhayn looked at him with utter disdain seeping through every iota of his eyes, Relius laid his hands at his hips and began pacing back and forth behind Ignis while continuing, "When the Black Beast entered this world a century ago, I had the…'misfortune' of being sent into the Cauldron, where I spent what felt like an eternity adrift in the Boundary. It was there that I first witnessed the true form of the 'soul'…Nothing more than a ball of bluish-green light amidst a sea of nothingness…"

"But when I had returned to this world, my memories of that experience had been lost for a time…Not only that, but eighty years had passed since the Black Beast attacked. It took me some time to recall what I had lost, but when I did, I sought to test some theories regarding what I had learned of the 'soul'."

"I had discovered a great many things in my research…"

"Hmph, by that you mean the inhumane experiments you performed on all those helpless victims, I presume?" Valkenhayn snarled, barely able to contain his disgust, yet his words held no power over his foe.

"…But regardless of how far my research went, the nature of the 'soul' remained consistent…Stagnant to the utmost degree. And that would include any 'flaws' that were ingrained into them. Those who committed crimes could not be made to change their ways, an uncaring mother could not be made to love her child, and a suicidal man could not be forced to be happy."

"And if a 'soul' cannot be changed, then what worth is there to the person who carries it within their 'vessel' of a body? As I said before, humans are nothing more than dolls controlled by those we cannot perceive."

"And so you allied yourself with Izanami and Terumi to rid this world of all that you believe is 'worthless'? If so, I hold nothing but the utmost pity and contempt for your narrow-mindedness, Relius Clover." Only Valkenhayn could so eloquently tear into his foe with words.

"Izanami and Terumi are nothing more than means to an end. I hold but only the tiniest interest in their goals," Relius then gestured towards Ignis before continuing, "With the help of Fluctus Redactum: Ignis…I shall replace the Master Unit and recreate the world as I see fit, becoming it's 'Architect'. Once I am through with this world, there shall no longer be a need for stagnation…Nor will it be governed by the whims of those outside of logic. Humanity shall take it's true shape, devoid of it's chains."

"I see you've 'failed' to include yourself as one of those 'flawed' humans, Relius Clover. Is your arrogance so infallible that you truly believe you are a 'God' born into a realm of mortals?"

"Only one capable of perceiving and accepting the truth of the world can truly bring about it's change, Valkenhayn. Unless you, somehow, know of a worthier candidate?"

"I have hardly the experience in such a field…All I know for sure is that a world born of your design can only be a world of eternal suffering for all who live in it." Valkenhayn tugged on the back of his left glove while raising it beside his head, then held himself in a stance meant to portray his readiness to fight.

"But I have but one more question for you, Relius. If the 'soul' is as stagnant as you claim, then how could someone like you possibly have raised a family for a time?"

"…" Relius blinked for just a moment and then laid his right fingertips across his forehead as he gave it a quick shake, "You accuse me of having…'sentimentality'?"

"That is hardly worth your effort to believe, Valkenhayn. They were just yet another means to an end, for the time when I was not truly myself…"

"Or perhaps you do not wish to admit that you are as flawed as the 'souls' you have so wrongly judged." Valkenhayn held nothing back, and this time his words were a dagger to the stoic demeanor Relius projected that peeled away a more prominent and humored smile.

"Your belief is what is flawed, Valkenhayn…" The man took pause and his smile turned into a sullen frown, "Yet…could there be merit to such a proposition?"

"After all, instead of taking an opportunity to examine an interesting new specimen, I instead decided upon you, an old 'friend'. Is this an act of my own design? Or perhaps a whim of 'sentimentality' implanted upon me by those who exist outside of logic?"

Relius parted his hands out in front of his body and his cape rose up from a close arctic breeze. With a grin across his face, he looked towards Valkenhayn and announced his thoughts with a cold, calculating tone, "Yes…I see now. Our battle does indeed have purpose, Valkenhayn R. Hellsing. Once I have defeated you, then my 'soul' will be rid of the 'sentimentality' that has been grafted upon it. Only then can I take up the role of 'Architect' in the new world of humanity."

"As long as I live and breathe, your ambitions shall be torn to shreds before my claws!" Valkenhayn snarled before making a short dash forward, swinging his right hand out and turning it into a claw in an instant.

Relius stepped back and snapped his right fingers out with a courteous draw, remarking the puppet's name with a deep echo to his voice. Ignis heeded his command with no hesitation, her eyes flickering bright as her limber claws swung back behind her head before lashing them forward with the blunt strength of an iron whip.

The sharp claws met one another and their sparks melted the snow below them into a fine puddle. Being the more nimble of the two, Ignis slashed her left claw up the moment it arced beside her hip, attempting to cut into the bottom of Valkenhayn's neck. Bending back to give himself just the narrowest bit of distance, the butler had just enough time to transform his whole body into the natural form of a big, silvery-blue wolf with a white mane to avoid the attack.

He leapt back, his whole body curled up before he landed on all fours and bent down. With a strength rivaling dozens of his kin combined, Valkenhayn sprung forth like a blur and howled, lunging himself straight into Ignis' chest while his body rotated with the speed of a drill. He grinded into the puppet's form and caused her body to halt for but a moment as the limbs were flung about, only to retreat with a leap back as those same limbs were swung down like ravaging guillotines.

The tip of Ignis' front most claws grazed the top of Valkenhayn's head, leaving tiny scars on his forehead as he turned back into a human and skid back along the snow. Thanks to the cold, the blood trickled out with the speed of oozing slime, but even if it gushed forth like a river that would not be enough to still Valkenhayn's ferocity.

But his ferocity was only matched by his cunning, which is what would govern his thoughts in this battle against an equally brilliant foe. Valkenhayn knew that reaching Relius wouldn't be easy, and even managing to strike his mortal body would prove difficult still. The puppeteer's outfit was equipped with many gadgets and gizmos for protection, their strength capable of matching blows with the likes of Hakumen.

Relius was not going to allow Valkenhayn little more than a second to plan out his attacks, instead choosing to vex his mind with the overwhelming speed and power of his puppet Ignis, who was given the command to pirouette towards the werewolf with but a snap of the fingers. A graceful performance of blades, Ignis swung her claws around to cover a broad breadth of space while the snow at her feet was kicked up around her, making the movements of her limbs all the more difficult to predict.

Through the blurring whirlwind of snow and steel, Valkenhayn took his chances and made a short hop forward, transforming his right arm into a claw and uppercutting into the middle of the whirlwind with his elbow. Though he took a sharp cut to the tip of his elbow, he managed to strike the palm of Ignis and end her deadly dance. Her limbs were thrown back over her head, tilting her entire body off-balance.

To tip the balance in his favor, Valkenhayn thrust his right foot into Ignis' chest, and the slick snow took care of the rest by knocking her down. Her body left an angelic imprint on the snow, it's beauty appreciated by the butler for but a moment before he sprinted across the battlefield towards Relius.

The puppeteer had a curious, analytical look in his eyes as he took a couple steps back, avoiding the deadly graze of Valkenhayn's right arm slicing downward during his descent. The werewolf's pupils shrank and released a glint of light before he swung his left claw up towards Relius' face. The man brushed the side of his right arm out to open his cape, a large green mechanism with a chainsaw hook coming out to meet the werewolf's attack.

Valkenhayn's claws struck the front of the whirring blades and the way the mechanism lunged out forced back the werewolf's arm and snapped the joints of the elbow. He kept his offense up, pushing against the chainsaw even as the nails of his claws were filed down and the strain got to his elbow.

His efforts would prove fruitful, as the blades of the chainsaw lost their edge and chipped off, forcing Relius to retract the mechanism and then swing his body to the other side to summon another from his cape in the three seconds it would take for Valkenhayn to attack. A swing of the opposite claw was intercepted by a green fisted mechanism that came out with the spring of a jack-in-the-box, digging all it's knuckles into the werewolf's gut.

Valkenhayn's composure broke with a cough of blood coming forth from his mouth, but he sharply bit his fangs down and latched his claws onto the wrist of the mechanism. Even with the snow making his claws' grip on the ground a struggle, Valkenhayn held onto the mechanism tighter than he would a titanium rope and tugged on it.

Relius stood still, only his cape being budged as he glanced past his foe. Valkenhayn was beginning to pull apart the mechanism at the joints when all of a sudden a tall shadow rose up to cover his body. He glanced over his shoulder just as Ignis lunged a claw towards the side of his neck, and with a jerk of his arms back into his body he leapt to the side and left the claw to shoot straight for the mechanism with ludicrous speed.

Yet, with but a centimeter of a gap remaining, Ignis stopped and didn't leave a nick on the mechanism as it retracted into Relius' cape. The man then stepped in a curve to the left to get behind his puppet while gesturing his right hand out to snap his fingers. Ignis stiffened upright and then turned on the werewolf, lunging her right hand out and transforming the claws into a thin and winding drill as long as her arm.

Valkenhayn hunched over, the violent sounds of the drill grinding into his eardrum as it passed by, and then with his right eye glinting he lunged his right claw out and wrangled the puppet around the waist. He then hoisted her off the ground as light as a feather and turned around, throwing the doll towards the nearby house. A couple people scrambled off, falling into the snow as Ignis spun around and parted the snow as her arms spun around, planting her feet against the wall of the house without disturbing a single brick.

She then launched herself back at Valkenhayn, coiling her arms around in front of herself and turning her entire body into a large drill that sucked up all the snow in it's path. Faced with the indomitable power of that whirlwind of white, Valkenhayn grit his fangs and leapt high and back, transforming into a full wolf after weighing his options carefully.

Relius stepped aside to let Ignis continue unimpeded, moving without a hint of concern on his face. Valkenhayn got on all fours and flew straight at the center of Ignis's charge, spinning his body in the opposite direction but at a much greater velocity. His body picked up snow off the ground until his drill was just as big as Ignis'.

The two forces clashed head-on, the backs of their whirlwinds lashing around and whipping up the snow in a flurry that obscured the vision of all who tried to bear witness to it. Relius, however, cracked a smile and extended his hand towards the furious cloud of snow and murmured, "Observe…Ignis!"

Through his puppet, he could perceive the battle she underwent with Valkenhayn. From her eyes, his struggle against her was clear as the lights in the sky. The two's colliding forces ravaged their winter-y arena with sparks flying in all directions, yet neither was able to surpass the other in raw strength. They were in a perfect equilibrium, and in a matter of seconds that caused them to be pushed back.

But from how fast they were rotating, they propelled at each other once more, this time with Valkenhayn budging his body a little downward and then back up to attack from the bottom. He managed to slow down Ignis' charge by striking with a counter force at that precise angle, but was forced to the ground when he recoiled. After a couple agile leaps back, Valkenhayn leapt and charged again, this time flying straight at the top of Ignis' body.

He used the opposite rotation of her drill to increase his own speed, and went flying straight over the puppet like a rocket. The moment he pierced the cloud he dove straight down towards Relius, who hopped bacj to avoid it. The werewolf's crash knocked the snow up in a plume, disguising his change back to normal behind a foggy shade. The nocturnal glint of his eyes was the only signal Relius got to prepare for Valkenhayn's next attack, which was an inward swipe with both of his claws.

Relius summoned a thick yellow limb from the right of his cape and caught the attack, but not without the metal being punctured through like it had the density of cheese. Relius retracted the limb and took upon a more outright offensive stance against his opponent, summoning a pair of light-blue puppet-like fists from both sides of his cape that he thrust out one at a time.

Valkenhayn swung his fists out in stride, beating back each punch with all his strength and managing to push Relius back along the snow with every step forward he made. After the fifth consecutive clash of fists, the two fighters had similar mindsets and changed their attacks up. Relius pulled in his left fist and summoned a mantis-like pincer from his back, stabbing it down onto Valkenhayn's shoulder.

The werewolf's blood spurted out of the wound, but was not enough to stop him from swinging his left leg up into a blinding kick. The bottom of the feral foot struck Relius' face square in the center, leaving a crack in his mask and making a trickle of blood leak out of his nose. With an unflinching smirk, Relius ripped the appendage free from Valkenhayn's shoulder and then threw a punch from the other mechanical limb into his chest.

Once the limbs retreated into his cape, Relius glided forward past the right side of his foe's body and spun around, summoning another large green metal arm to try and grab Valkenhayn from behind. The werewolf jerked his right hand back and grabbed the arm by the wrist, pivoting himself around on his right foot with left claw swung beside his head. He lashed it down at the arm with all his might, fighting through the pain in his shoulder in order to pierce right through the elbow.

As wires and metal scattered across the snow as scrap, Relius retracted the remains into his cape and took a couple steps back, dodging the ensuing uppercut from his foe. With a cautious advance back, Relius laid a hand on his chin and remarked, "As always, we seem incapable of managing little more than a stalemate, Valkenhayn."

The werewolf paused for a moment, giving himself a chance to let his damaged shoulder relax. With a fanged growl, he was hesitant to admit, "The years have not dulled your brilliance, even if it's now relegated towards satisfying your depravity."

"Hmph, your praise comes of as little more than a gnawing insult. My creations should not be breaking at the dull claws of a withered old wolf…"

"If my claws are as weak as you claim, then why do you retreat?" Valkenhayn raised his arms up and turned them into claws, garnering a smirk of nonchalance from his foe.

"Why, whatever led you to believe that I am retreating?" The question prompted Valkenhayn's eyes to widen, and he glanced past Relius' body and saw that Ignis was nowhere to be found in the now fading cloud of snow.

Before he'd be able to comprehend what Relius had planned, Valkenhayn was ambushed from behind as Ignis emerged from the ground and slashed across his back with an uppercut from her right claw. The tip of the blade nicked the nerves close to his spine, making the werewolf lurch forward and fight the urge to howl in pain.

Ignis flipped over him and floated behind Relius, who watched as his foe hunched over just a bit and his knees wobbled. It would take far more than a wound like that to topple the mighty Valkenhayn, but Relius still lorded his confidence over him all the same.

"You are a far cry from the savage beast you once were, Immortal Breaker Valkenhayn. Though you are a being that exists outside of the flow of 'logic', you are still constrained by the same limits as all others who walk this planet. You bleed, you hurt…You grow old and weak. And yet, in spite of knowing your limitations, you chose not to surpass them, but to leave those limits dull and belittle yourself in the servitude of those intrusive Alucards…"

Relius laid a hand on the front of his mask, watching as blood trickled down Valkenhayn's back and became one with the pale white snow, "Honestly, no matter how hard I try…I shall never even hope to comprehend how illogical your behavior is."

As his knees continued to shake, Valkenhayn grinned and threw a mocking chuckle at his bewildered opponent, slowly but surely rising back upright as though his vigor had not taken even a scratch. Holding his vicious claws before his chest, the man averted his gaze from Relius' own and said with precise, unyielding scorn, "Perhaps it is you who is illogical, Relius Clover."

"Beg pardon?"

"A man who so triumphantly declares that a 'soul' is an object is nothing more than a braggart whelp of student who claims to have surpassed the teacher. With eyes so blinded by desires so egotistical, it is no wonder you fail to understand anything about what drives me, Relius Clover!" As Valkenhayn made clear how little his foe truly comprehended, he recalled the memories that give him motivation in battle.

 _More than a century ago, Valkenhayn was a young man with a fancy black tuxedo, white tie, and hollow white eyes. He had no dignity to his name, only a feral pride guided his every move. Along with Relius, he was part of a group known as the Immortal Breakers, who at the time had but one goal in mind…To eliminate the current head of the Alucard family, Clavis._

 _But for one reason or another, the efforts of the Immortal Breakers ended in failure every single time. One day, however, Valkenhayn had chosen to approach Clavis in a manner that was considered quite strange in the vampire's eyes. In the twilight of his own life, Clavis was a tall and powerful man with a black, red and gold robe that extended to the floor. His hair was black with streaks of white, and his skin was a dreadful pale white. One look into his eyes, and it'd be as thought you were staring at a pool of your own blood._

 _Yet, though his appearance was imposing, Clavis Alucard was a man of virtue and humility, and thus took a great deal of humor and interest in Valkenhayn's sudden appearance in his own dominion._

" _You are that lycanthrope…Valkenhayn R. Hellsing is your name, if I'm not mistaken." His voice was deep and wise, depicting not a man but rather an indomitable force of nature itself._

" _I have tried so many times to make an attempt on your whole, No Life King Clavis Alucard…But no matter what, you have always succeeded against me. I see that I can never hope to defeat you as I am now…So to better learn who you are, what you do, and what your weaknesses are…I request that you let me be your butler."_

" _My butler, huh? You wish for me, your mortal enemy, to be your master? …Just so you may one day have the chance to kill me?" Valkenhayn remembered the smile on Clavis' face that day as rather frightful._

" _Then, Valkenhayn R. Hellsing, I shall accept you as my butler. But, I feel there is something you should know…You will not just be serving one master." The man gestured his right hand behind himself and called to a person waiting in the wing. Valkenhayn recalls how little a sound the person's footsteps made, and how that was only a minor impression compared to meeting the person for the very first time._

 _It was Clavis' only daughter Rachel, a girl so small and delicate looking that she could have been mistaken for a porcelain doll had it not moved on it's own. Her demeanor was no different from past to present, yet she appeared quite lonesome. Clavis laid his hands on her shoulders with a gentle touch as Valkenhayn focused onto her._

" _This is my daughter Rachel, the next heir to the Alucard legacy. If you are to be my butler, Valkenhayn, then you must cater to her whims as well as mine. I hope at the very least, you two will get along…"_

 _For the first years of service, Valkenhayn recalled how Clavis would, in his own cunning way, test his resolve as a butler over his ferocity as a lycanthrope. The vampire would purposefully hand him the largest knives when in the kitchen, keep lethal liquids around the tea, and put himself in what appeared to be the most vulnerable of conditions. Though the temptation was great, Valkenhayn always denied his urges and worked his hardest._

 _What seemed like a practical joke born of spite from Clavis turned out to be a learning experience for the lycanthrope. He learned to cook, clean, and speak like a gentleman of the highest caliber little by little, and in turn learned more about the vampire and his experiences in the world. When it came to Rachel, however, their time was rather shaky at first, yet she would prove to be crucial in the experiences Valkenhayn had in that mansion._

 _One night, the young Rachel stood by her lonesome in what would one day be a garden of roses, staring blankly at the red moon in the sky. Valkenhayn had gone to see her only to request she join her father for dinner, and was not to say anymore until Rachel had asked him a rather poignant question._

" _You hate my father, don't you, Valkenhayn?" The werewolf stopped what he was doing and faced the young girl, telling her with a gentle retort, "That is not something for a girl your age to concern themselves with."_

" _Why do you hate my father?" Rachel asked without a hint of pause, brushing the side of her pigtails with the same aloofness as she would as an adult._

 _Valkenhayn, at that moment, would never forget the hesitation he felt in regards to answering that question, for not a single word would come to mind. Rachel would not relent, and with delicacy would ask yet another question._

"… _Do you hate me too?"_

" _I-I beg your pardon?" He responded with._

" _The bloodline of which you loathe so much flows as much within me as it does my father. Even though I have done nothing to earn your ire, should you not still hate me all the same?"_

"… _I do not appreciate you badgering me like this, little girl. Your father will deliver a swift punishment upon you if you let your dinner get cold."_

 _Rachel sighed and then headed out of the garden, saying to the werewolf while passing him by, "Perhaps it is something worth thinking about, Mr. Valkenhayn."_

 _And he did. After a number of years he could not recall of serving the lord of vampires, Valkenhayn came to realize he had no real reason to hate Clavis. The man was kind, patient, wise and humble, and in time the lessons he taught rubbed off on the feral werewolf and turned him into a disciplined butler._

 _Thus, when old age caught up to Clavis, Valkenhayn watched him die not as an enemy, but as a close friend. Then, the werewolf would take it upon himself to honor Clavis' first request towards him, and spend his years taking care of his only daughter Rachel. And as years continued to pass, whatever infantile hatred the werewolf had was drowned out by an eternal kindness._

"The humility of Master Clavis…The kindness and patience of Madame Rachel…" Valkenhayn stood his ground with an iron will, staring down Relius with a blue ember burning forth from his eyes that represented pure ferocity.

"They imprinted these lessons upon my very soul, and changed my life for the better! So no, Relius Clover…My claws have not dulled. Far from it! It is through the act of protecting the honor and kindness of the Alucard legacy that I now wield a strength far greater than what I had in my fool-hearted youth!"

Valkenhayn kicked his right foot up so hard that it knocked the snow off the ground fifty feet past Relius' body. He then bent the leg close to his gut and held his arms across his chest, bearing his fangs as Relius found his body trembling.

"And it is with this power that I shall rend all who stand in my path! So arm yourself, Relius Clover, for I shall end your time in this world grafting fear onto your black-hearted wretch of a soul!"

"…Such middling tripe…" Relius murmured with a shake of the head, "Yet, this is what makes your soul, which exists outside of 'logic', the most intriguing of all. When I am done, I shall enjoy examining it."

The two warriors would continue their merciless fight amongst the snow-drenched lands, a fight that only they could resolve…

 _Next Time: Kill the Nightmare Fiction_


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Nightmare Reality**

With the death of Azrael behind them, Ragna and Alex entered the Yabiko HQ without a moment's hesitation. There was a foreboding silence in the first hall as they entered it, not helped by the fact that the wall around the door to Kagura's office appeared to be cut all across it. Ragna took the lead and wanted to charge right into the office, but Alex tugged on the back of his shirt's collar to keep him back.

"Hold on a sec Ragna…" He whispered close to his face. Ragna then budged his elbow onto Alex's wrist to get his grip off before turning around and grumbling in frustration, "What now?"

Alex glanced past the Grim Reaper and took another look at the cuts in the wall. They were smooth, precise, but numerous in appearance. With brows lowered and eyes left in a squint, the boy could not remove the suspecting thoughts weighing on his conscience.

"Something's not right. Let me take the lead, just in case Terumi tries to pull a fast one."

"…goddamn it really?" The Grim Reaper tried to say to himself under a tired breath, but nevertheless forced himself to hold back for just a moment longer, "Fine, but if you let that bastard get away-"

"There is _no_ escape for him." Alex stated, exuding confidence as he passed Ragna by and went for the door. After glancing over his shoulder to make sure Ragna would stay a couple feet away, the boy reached for the doorknob and took in a deep breath.

" _Finally…Time to end this!"_ He twisted and shoved the doorknob in, swinging the door open until it slammed against the nearby wall. Alex then kept his hand on the knob as he looked on ahead, watching as Terumi stood in the center of the room with the heel of his right shoe planted firmly atop the back of Hibiki's head.

Hibiki was in no condition to move. His legs had been shredded from the hip down, his right hand was sliced off and bleeding profusely, and the life was dwindling from his eyes. His condition was in no way helped by Terumi grinding his skull down with his feet, taunting with the utmost malice into his ear.

"Should have picked your battles more carefully there, bucko! But hey, don't worry… _You'll never get to disappoint your 'Lord' again…_ " He dug his foot in deeper, crunching down the bones in Hibiki's nose until the nostrils were flooded with blood. Alex then swung his right hand up and launched a warning fireball at Terumi, but the man swung his body back and let the fireball fly by over his chest with a subdued look of surprise on his face.

Then, his lips curled up on both sides into a grin as he creaked his head to the right and opened his eyes to meet the boy's furious glare straight on. He then lowered his foot down in front of Hibiki's skull and gave it a hard kick, flipping the man over onto his back with enough of an impact to force him to cough up a small geyser of blood.

"So the guest of honor has finally arrived to his own party. Got to say…I was starting to get just a liiiiittle tired of dealing with this stubborn maitre d' of yours."

"How many lives do you have to ruin before you're satisfied, Terumi?!" Alex exclaimed, coiling his hands into fists and laying them at his hips. In response, Terumi looked at him with a nonchalant smile.

"Do I **really** have to give you a number? Anything below 'all of them' is just too small, hehe…" As he relished in the rise he got out of Alex's widening glare, he closed his own eyes and murmured, "But really now, why must you always assume that **I'm** the one responsible for everything? Sure, I may have ground the brat's head in like it was a little slab of meat, but everything before that well…"

Terumi gestured his head to the left to direct Alex's attention towards Nu, who floated in the center of the room with Hibiki's swords held in her bloodied hands. With a taunting grin towards the boy's frozen expression of shock, she snapped the swords in two and let the pieces fall to the ground.

"You know who to blame for that now, don't you?"

" _Nu's still alive…Damn it, I didn't think she would be rebuilt_ _ **this**_ _fast."_ Alex looked at Nu for a moment then back at Terumi, who took off his hat and spun it around on his pointer finger, his hair spiking up as he indulged himself in giving off a permanent glare of callousness towards the boy.

"Of course, we both know who the real **real** culprit is, right? I'll give you a hint…I'm staring right at him," Terumi's unsubtle mockery made a grimace form on Alex's face beyond his control, as rage began to boil his very blood, "But hey, what's a casualty or two on the old conscience, right? After all, once you 'kill me', you'll forget about aaaaaaaaall the lives you've ruined just to get to this point."

"R-Ruined…? G…ghhhccckkk!" Through the thick blood drowning his esophagus, Hibiki forced words from his mouth and surprised both Alex and Terumi. The man could only muster the strength to lift his head up an inch, but that was more than enough to show Terumi the strength of his resolve beaming forth from his glare.

"I-I have always fought…F-For Lord Kagura's goals…I-If my death…means that his ambitions are realized…Then it's a worthy de-" Midway through, Terumi rolled his eyes and snapped his left fingers back at Nu, who sliced Hibiki's neck clean through with just one blade. His head then rolled back with mouth left stiffly open.

"Tsk tsk tsk…" Terumi shook his head and closed his eyes, gesturing his hands up on both sides of his head and mentioning with unfathomable nonchalance, "Why DO these bit characters keep deluding themselves with their talks of grandeur and self-importance? Honestly, does everyone read from the same thrift store grade book of proverbs or something?"

"…Oh well!" Terumi brushed the matter off with a shrug and then smiled wide, looking back at Alex as he stared down at Hibiki's mangled corpse, "But now that that worthless sack of flesh is out of the way, I guess it's time for us to tango, yeah? Of course, you know how that saying goes right? How it takes two to tango? Cause it seems to me like you're the one coming up short there buster!"

" _Hibiki…"_ Alex ignored the taunts as he looked down at the man's body, his lost life forever burned into his conscience. As his fists shook, he slowly turned to look at Terumi, his eyes full of rage and guilt, _"You never should have had to die. But I promise you and Kagura…That it won't be in vain!"_

"…" Alex closed his eyes, and took in a very deep and concentrated breath. His heart raced, but his muscles loosened up. Without giving Terumi even a moment's glance, he mumbled a simple, "No…"

"Pardon?"

"I'm not going to play your games anymore, Terumi."

"Heh, you expect to fool anyone with those lies? I can sense it…your hatred, it's overflowing!" Terumi gestured his right hand forward and clamped his fingers, as though grasping that immaterial concept out of the air.

"I do hate you, and that hatred will never go away…" Alex admitted, then looked the man in the eyes, "But that has nothing to do with any personal sleight you've performed against me. I just hate the kind of 'scum of the earth' types like you. If we're being real…Get rid of that, and you'd be nothing more than a blip in my life."

"…Excuse me?" Terumi's brows arched down, and his lips ruffled into a tight-knit scowl. Alex then tucked his hands into his pockets and started to move away from the door. With a bit of a smug smile, the boy closed his eyes and put on an aloof atmosphere to piss Terumi off further.

"See, you just pissed me off once. But him?" On that cue, Ragna entered the room and met a surprised Terumi face-to-face with unbridled disdain, while Alex took a great deal of pleasure in reminding the snake, "You **ruined** his life."

With Ragna entering the room, Nu's cold personality thawed with the utmost glee and she hollered out, "Ragna! I can't believe you're here!"

"Neither can I…" Terumi grumbled in frustration while throwing a glare towards Alex, who turned to face him while keeping his smile up. Ragna glanced at Nu for a moment and froze up, exclaiming while completely flabbergasting, "W-Wait…how the HELL are YOU still alive?!"

Nu's smiled crossed the breadth of her face and she was about to say something, until Alex flew at her and slammed an open hand against her face, dragging her out through the broken window while looking back and exclaiming, "I'll handle this bitch! Terumi's all yours!"

Ragna and Terumi looked back and blinked a couple times, then stared at each other with Terumi wiggling his lips and speaking through a tight scowl, "Can't believe that little shit actually recruited you…"

But after a little thought, he widened his eyes and looked far more excited to see his enemy, "But hey, if a moth is led to a flame, guess it has to burn to ashes like a lonely church would, eh, little Raggy?"

Ragna swung his right hand up and did not lose focus on Terumi's smug face, declaring to him with a deep, rugged growl, "I've been waiting…a LONG time to tear you to pieces, Terumi! This time, you're not getting away!"

"Still as stupid as ever…The only one trapped here…Is you, you arrogant little BITCH!" Terumi then swung and crossed his arms up in front of his chest, both him and Ragna declaring as the building shook wholesale.

"Restriction 666 released…!"

"Restriction 666 released…!"

"Dimensional interface force field deployed…!"

"Dimensional interface force field deployed…!"

"Now engaging the Idea Engine!"

"Code S.O.L.…!"

"BlazBlue…!"

"ACTIVATE!"

The two's powers were unleashed at the exact same moment, shattering the glass windows down the hall outside and blowing all the doors wide open. Kagura's office was thrown into disarray all around, the fighters in the center of this chaos with an iron clad focus on one another and hatred burning in their hearts. As echoes of darkness shook around Ragna's frame, he turned his right hand into a devilish claw and leapt straight at Terumi, who was surrounded by his life-draining runic barrier.

Terumi drew his knives into both hands and stabbed them into the center of Ragna's claw, their clash flooding the building with a brief flash of raw white energy. While their battled raged on, Alex continued to drag Nu as far away from the building as he possibly could, taking her towards the abandoned rooftops of the closest buildings.

The Murakumo summoned a ring of blades around the boy, and he gave them a glance before braking back and blowing her away with a blast of air from his palm. He avoided the blades and watched as Nu descended to the nearest building, her bladed legs tearing up the ceiling plates and girders underneath until she stopped at the end, the back of her legs knocking off a chunk of the stonework.

"You…!" Nu spoke with scathing recognition towards the boy, her teeth trembling from how hard she bit down on them.

" _She still has her memories? …Guess getting that stone out of her_ _ **wouldn't**_ _have changed that, but…"_ Alex shook his head and focused on the Murakumo, throwing his right arm out evenly with his shoulder and summoning his sword.

"You're not going to keep Nu away from Ragna again! Nu WILL be together with Ragna!" The Murakumo leaned forward and summoned a dozen rifts around her, swords piercing through them at the ready.

" _She still probably has a Life Link with Ragna, and since we're in the city I can't use the Blazing Overlord Fist to get past that. I'll just have to hold her off until Ragna's done with Terumi, then hope Kokonoe can deal with her after…Whatever happens, I can't let her merge with Ragna!"_ Quickly laying out what he had to do, Alex swung his sword out before his chest and latched onto the seven triggers in both hands. Giving them a tug, he was consumed by a chrysalis of golden fire as Nu launched her blades his way.

The flames parting kicked up a strong enough gale to flip and push the blades away while Alex, now wearing the wings of a Phoenix, flew straight at Nu like a rocket with sword drawn far behind his head. He swung it forward and she crossed her arms to block it, the slicing force instead coming out behind her and cleaving an abandoned building diagonally through.

Alex locked the sword against her arms and drug it down, applying a thin cut into the blades around her wrists while trying to push her off the building. Nu's lone eye in the visor shook, and with an enraged roar she swung her arms out and managed to push the boy away as the tips of her feet were dangling off the edge of the roof.

She then threw a couple blades straight at him, the boy flying three feet to the right in an instant to dodge one then cutting the other one with a swift rise of his sword. Nu then raised her arms up and summoned a gigantic rift before her, throwing a volley of dozens upon dozens of smaller blades his way. The boy put his right foot on the ground and used materials from the disheveled roof to create a wall to protect himself for a moment as he flew back to put some distance between him and her.

" _She's not as strong now, but those blades of hers can still shred through my soul shields like they're paper plates."_ Alex, in that moment of thought, looked up and saw Nu flying right at him with a pair of hooked energy claws summoned near her head. She grit her teeth and bore her ferocity while lashing those claws his way, the boy getting only a second to fly back to the northern edge of the roof before the claws could dig any deeper then the front of his first soul shield.

Nu landed and broke the girder at her feet in two, then swung her arms around to throw blade after blade at Alex, all of them coming from different directions and showing no end to their appearances. With a jerk of his body faster than the naked eye could perceive, Alex kept up with the blades and sliced them apart, being allow only a second to stab his blade into the ground.

The building trembled as one by one, a line of lava geysers erupted towards Nu. She waited until the last millisecond between geysers to warp forward and get directly in front of the boy, firing a horizontal blade that she knew he would dodge. As he did so, the blade sliced through the center of the next shield, opening a wide enough scar for Nu to penetrate through and slice across the boy's chest with the blade on her arm.

Biting his teeth down, he spun around and kicked Nu in the back with his right leg, sending her crashing through a couple buildings until she slammed against the cliffside directly below the HQ. Alex then came right in without a second passing and stabbed her in the gut, causing cracks to spread out across the rocks. He twisted the blade and thus her guts, but Nu just quivered and moaned at the pain.

"I-It's so rouuuuuugh~ …B-But Ragna's r-rougher!" Nu's face was glazed over with a blush, and she raised her right hand up to summon some rifts around Alex. The boy pulled back before she was skewered by energy spears. Nu spread her arms out and performed some quick calculations, then levitated in place and let her wound heal up.

"Hehehe…! But Nu appreciates the warm-up!" She spoke with a malevolent grin on her face. Alex shook his head then flew away from the cliff, dispelling his sword and bombarding Nu with a series of large fireballs. She charged right through them with the help of a barrier seal, then tackled the boy to drag him along towards the ceiling of the city.

Meanwhile, inside the HQ, Ragna was launched out of the office and slammed against the wall opposite the door. When he landed on the ground, he immediately swung his sword at the ground ready to send a Dead Spike after Terumi, but the man threw an Ouroboros chain across the distance between them and latched it around his wrist to stop him.

Allowing the chain to carry him across the room, Teurmi thrust his right knee into the front of Ragna's face and drew blood from his nose. Ragna stumbled a step back but planted his foot firmly on the ground with sword in both hands. He stabbed it forward, letting out an angered roar, only for Terumi to lean forward and slide underneath the blade.

"Too slow, you little SHIT!" Terumi rose up with a bounding leap, flipping his body around and summoning a dark green snake to help kick Ragna in the chin. The Grim Reaper was flung off the ground, knocked even higher when Terumi spun around again and hit him with an even harder kick. Terumi dug the tip of his shoe into Ragna's chest, shaking the hall until he was sent flying up into the nearest pillar.

Terumi landed and didn't even wait for the Grim Reaper to peel off, as he jerked his right hand out and latched another Ouroboros chain to his chest. Eyes wide with ecstasy, Terumi twisted his body around and tugged on the chain, exclaiming at the top of his lungs, "DIE DIE DIE!"

He threw Ragna over to the other wall and smashed the pillar in two, shaking him up just a little bit. Terumi pulled Ouroboros away and then bent his entire body back, summoning three giant energy serpents around himself while waiting for the Grim Reaper to fall victim to his attack.

Ragna fell, but didn't lose his undying vigor as he grabbed his sword in both hands and swung it behind his head. Covering it in darkness, he lashed it out in the form of a sharp wave projectile that sliced through Terumi's snakes diagonally. The man rose up with a sharp lunge forward until he readjusted himself upright, but as he reached for his knives Ragna got in close and used a claw to slam him against the wall.

Then, with the tips dug in tight, Ragna ran to the left and dragged Terumi through ten feet of walls, breaking through any door frames unfortunate to get in his path. Ragna then threw Terumi away, the man rolling around twice before landing on his feet and skidding across the floor. The Grim Reaper consumed his blade in darkness and dug a niche into the ground as he swung it down beside himself.

"Time for you to pay!" He exclaimed before unleashing a massive Dead Spike, which took up so much of the hall that it had to devour chunks of the walls just to keep moving. Terumi smiled and gestured both his hands forward, throwing Ouroboros out from the palms and piercing the back of the roaring demon head. As the head collapsed down towards Terumi, he forced himself through like a stone on a slingshot, flying straight at Ragna as the chains wiggled back towards himself.

Ragna swerved to the right and brought his sword up like an executioner preparing a guillotine, waiting for the precise moment when Terumi's neck would line up with his strike. Before the blow was struck, Terumi pulled out his knives and crossed them above his head, meeting Ragna's blade as he slid on past and stopping it just in the nick of time.

Terumi's wrists cracked a little from the pressure, but he spun right around with exuberant agility and dashed forward to stab one of his knives into Ragna's right shoulder as he was in the midst of turning. Ragna gave out subdued grunts of pain before he retaliated by swinging his sword straight forward, a reckless attack that Terumi slipped away from and then took advantage of by stabbing his other knife into Ragna's vulnerable wrist.

But when that knife went in, it pierced through to the other side, and Terumi refused to let go as he twisted the knife back and forth to grind up the muscles and sinew inside. Forcing Ragna to hear the noises of his own body being torn apart, Terumi leaned his head forward and grinned a most twisted grin, pleasurably declaring to him, "Awww don't be so mad, Raggy…You should be used to this by now!"

"Go…TO HELL!" Ragna swung his left fist out and punched Terumi square in the face, bloodying his nose and forcing him to rip his knife out of the wrist. Ragna's right arm limped down at his hip, the wound stitching itself back up. He grabbed the sword into his other hand and sliced it forward, Terumi hopping back to avoid it.

"Ehehehe! Writhe in agony…you stupid bitch!" Terumi dashed right at Ragna and slipped around his body as he tried to attack him. As the Grim Reaper twisted around, Terumi disappeared for a moment and then reappeared with his right leg swung up high into Ragna's chin, a black and green streak imprinted on the air.

"SUPER SNAKE KICK!" He exclaimed with utter glee, while a gale of wind kicked up across the hall and Ragna was launched at the ceiling. His body smashed through it in such a manner that he spun around as he went outside. Terumi latched Ouroboros to the north edge of the hole in the roof and zipped after his foe, his body soaring up like a rocket.

Ragna began to slow down, then swung his sword at Terumi when he drew his knives out to try and pierce him through like an arrow. The clash of weapons forced Terumi's arms back and stabilized Ragna, giving him a chance to turn the tables on his mortal foe by positioning his blade downward and diving straight at him while exclaiming, "BELIAL EDGE!"

He stabbed the tip of his blade into Terumi's chest and dragged him back down to the roof. Once the two collided with it, they tore up a fifteen foot long fissure until Terumi got angry and released a burst of devilish green energy to force Ragna off. The Grim Reaper went flying back to the end of the fissure, the ground unstable around his feet. Terumi used Ouroboros to keep himself from plummeting, then landed in front of the jet he rode in on.

With a glance back and a mischievous smirk, Terumi swung his arms back and used two Ouroboros' chains to pierce through the vehicle and give it a tug. After a few tugs, he was able to wrench the jet off the ground and throw it through the air towards Ragna. The Grim Reaper leapt through the air unconcerned as he turned his sword into a scythe and spun forward, increasing his momentum and slicing the jet clean in twine.

The halves flew off the sides of the building and blew up in the city, while Ragna turned his weapon back into a blade and held it in his left hand behind his back as he landed and broke into a run towards a flabbergasted Terumi. The man froze up as Ragna, pupils shrunk with fury, slashed the blade down across his chest, and spun around ready to unleashed his next attack.

Before his body was the victim of mutilation, Terumi stabbed both Ouroboros chains into the ground and with a leap extended them out to take flight high above the Carnage Scissors. Ragna looked up and watched as Terumi dove straight down, pluning both his feet into Ragna's chest and forcing him back through the ceiling.

Alex, while continuing to combat Nu in mid-air, was able to catch a glimpse of their battle from afar. With blade held in one hand before his chest, he thought, _"Boy, Kagura's going to have a lot to clean up…"_

He swung his head back when Nu tried to sneak in a couple blades his way, deflecting them with a turn of his sword and then slashing the air rapidly to send differing diagonal waves of electricity after the Murakumo Unit. Nu spun around and weaved past the attacks, getting closer and closer until Alex had a clear look at her merry grin.

He dispelled his sword and covered the hand in a claw of electricity, trying to swipe it at her chest. She flipped over his body and performed a quick pirouette, throwing two blades out to pierce the sides of Alex's sixth soul shield and cut into his hips.

He swung around and threw both his hands around, thick cables made of coiled barbed wire shooting from the bottom of his palm and wrapping around Nu's body. He then spun around with the speed of a tornado to disorient the doll for a little bit, throwing off her attempts at aiming her blades. Once satisfied, he threw her down towards the rooftop of an industrial facility.

With a couple flips she planted her feet against the side of a chimney and looked up at Alex, growling in frustration that he wasn't dead yet. He charged down at her with right fist coated in absolute zero ice, and she dodged by flipping back to get higher up the chimney. Alex's punch spread the ice across the entire chimney in an instant, Nu being forced to levitate before she became a statue.

She then charged at Alex and plowed him into the ground level of the city, where a crowd of citizens had gathered to observe the chaos unfolding. They backed off when Nu's eyes flashed through the cloud of dust, appearing to gaze upon them all.

"I-It's a monster!" A couple of them screamed, bringing a gleeful warmth to Nu's heart.

"Hehehe…! They call Nu a monster…They've seen _nothing_ yet!" She crossed her arms and summoned a circle of rifts to aim at the crowd. As they screamed, Alex rose up and punched both his fists into Nu's waist, launching her up and through a couple rooftops, stopping the rifts before a single person could be stabbed.

"All of you, get out of here, NOW!" Alex swung his hand out to the crowd and came across being a little more angered than he had intended. He didn't take a moment to look in their eyes, already knowing they were as frightful of him as they were Nu, and after biting his lower lip he flew off after her.

She swung her body a little to the left and dug her legs into the walls of the nearby building to slow herself down, then mumbled Ragna's name to herself a couple times with a tone of desperation. She then looked at Alex and over to the right at a mother and her child. With a malicious grin, Nu threw her right hand that way and opened a couple rifts to send blades at them.

Alex, seeing this dastardly act unfold, widened his eyes and threw a wicked glare at Nu before digging his right hand into his pocket to use the Gaia Temporis. The mother coiled her child up in her arms and pointed her back at the blades as the kid cried out in a panic. Flesh would be pierced a moment later, but to the surprise of the mother it was Alex who had taken the hit for them. He grit his teeth and grunted as hard as he could, keeping the blades from going any deeper than an inch.

"G-Go…!" He growled, and thankfully the two were receptive to his proclamation. Once he burned the blades off his back, Alex turned around and saw Nu speeding towards the roof of the HQ. Infuriation burning in his eyes and soul, Alex kicked off the ground and caught up to her in a second, grabbing her by the back and jerking her so hard that she's unable to sustain flight as he throws her past the HQ and down towards the tram station outside.

She crashed against the tram nearby, denting it into a crumbled heap of metal that would be broken off the rail and sent plummeting deeper into the city. Nu then collapsed onto her knees on the ground next to the rail, giving two short, bloody coughs. When Alex landed on the ground in front of her, she stood up and trembled.

"Y-You…! Why…why do you keep getting in Nu's way?! I-I just want Ragna…!"

"Don't give me that shit…" Alex summoned his blade, having no patience for the doll's attempt at innocence, and kept the tip at the neck while using the dull side to lift her head up.

"You want more than that. You want to destroy everything."

"Hehehe…! Like you're any different than Nu!" The Murakumo had a lot of gall to taunt the boy at this junction, but he just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, like you haven't said **that** already. Look, there may be a part of me that wants to destroy everything, but that's not the part that's in control. The person who just wants to slay all evil and protect those in need? **He's** the man you face now."

As Alex thought how best to proceed with Nu considering the Life Link, his gaze ended up moving a little to the right, where he saw one of the holographic TV screens were on, showing the battle unfolding against Izanami over in Ibukido. For a brief moment, Shina's visage was focused on, a look of fear crystal clear on her face. Alex had an internal growl of concern, but distracting his mind at that moment would prove to be a critical mistake.

"Heeheehee!" Nu's giggle pierced his eardrums, but not as deeply as a couple blades would soon do so into his gut. Through a miracle of miracles, neither hit his vital organs, but blood still seeped out thick through his wounds.

"You're so STUPID!" Nu exclaimed with great excitement as the wounds caused Alex to stumble a couple steps back. Then, she spread her arms out and summoned a gigantic rift in the sky directly above her.

"Nu will never die! Not while Ragna gives Nu purpose in life! But you…you can go to hell!" With a furious proclamation, Nu stabbed her left hand out and caused a gigantic metallic blade to stab through the dimensions and plummet down towards Alex. The boy, having just burned the blades out of his gut and cauterized the wounds, looked up at the descending sword and raised both his hands up to intercept it at the tip.

His knees snapped into place and pinched the nerves, adding grueling pain to an already tense scenario for him. He was able to keep the sword from going any further by putting all his strength into his arms and legs, but while he was occupied with that Nu dashed right past him and flew straight for the HQ.

" _She's going for Ragna…Fuck!"_ He looked up at the giant blade and dug his fingers in around the tip. Gritting his teeth down to the point of veins throbbing on his forehead, he tried to analyze the composition of the sword in a haste. It was made primarily of materials he didn't recognize, but there was enough familiar minerals and metals for him to work with.

" _Have to destroy this…NOW!"_ By concentrated on what he knew, Alex was able to break down the sword's durability by removing those materials entirely. The sword became filled with cracks and lost both it's strength and mobility, the remaining chunks collapsing onto the ground across the entire city and causing it to tremble as though struck by an earthquake.

Alex panted for a few seconds while reaching for the Gaia Temporis. Nu was fast, but would never be able to outpace instantaneous movement. The boy could only pray that he was not too late to intercept her as he stopped time and flew into the HQ.

It was any wonder the building was enduring the battle between Ragna and Terumi if the halls were an indication, as most of the walls had collapsed and there was barely a roof in sight. Terumi was on the ground in front of a pile of rubble, the tendons of his right leg torn to shreds while his face dripped with blood and one of his own knives had been plunged into his left eye.

Ragna stood over him panting with vapid breaths, his body drenched in a foul mixture of blood and sweat as his clothes had been torn all across, the right half of his shirt ripped off entirely. But none of that mattered to him. He was still standing, and had enough strength to keep his blade grasped tight in both hands. Terumi, looking up at the man, still mustered up a grin and callous giggle.

"Oh…give me a break Raggy…Do you expect me to believe that **you** are going to kill **me**?!" Ragna glared down at him, his expression devoid of any amusement as she held the sword before his waist and began to change it into a scythe. Terumi's pupils shrunk into slits barely visible to the naked eye, and he continued to assault the Grim Reaper with venomous taunts.

"You stupid shitstain! So long as I'm fed by the buffet of hatred this world has to offer, I'm unkillable! So come on, why even bother trying?!"

"I know the truth now, Terumi…" Ragna had little care or sympathy to offer, and with a deep and sadistic tone he raised the scythe over his left shoulder while his red eye glowed.

"So long as your soul survives, you think you can keep coming back to haunt me. Over, and over, and over again…! Well guess what? All these nightmares I've been forced to endure? All the AGONY and MISERY you've caused throughout my life? You can be damn sure they'll keep you company on your one-way trip to Hell, Terumi!"

With a scorching scowl meant to leave a permanent imprint in Terumi's mind, Ragna coated the right half of his body in a crawling darkness and let all his pent up rage loose in a single roar, "IT ENDS NOW! BLACK ONSLA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGHHHH!"

Before Ragna could attack, he was stabbed through the back by a giant triangular blade. His scream of agony was born of recognition towards this particular sword, and as his arms and legs stiffened against their will he creaked his head back to look over his shoulder. Standing behind him with arms wrapped around his waist in an embrace was Nu, whose sword pierced through her as well. She was smiling, her mind in an eternal state of bliss.

"Ragna…I'm so glad I got to you in time! Now you and Nu can be together forever…and nothing can get in our way!"

"B-Bitch…! Get…get off of me!" Ragna tried to swing his weapon around to cut her off, but then his muscles stiffened up even more and his weapon dropped out of his hands. A black, cancerous darkness spread across his body from the legs up, same with Nu. All the while, Terumi just watched this sudden intervention unfold with eyes wide in unmitigated disbelief.

"Eh…ehehe…EEHAAAAHAHAHAHA!" Terumi's laughter, a perfect cacophony of relief and malevolence, was the first thing that entered Alex's eardrums as he left the frozen time. That combined with the horrific sight of Nu forcing a merge with Ragna induced an uncontrollable state of rage in Alex's mind. He charged the Murakumo Unit and latched his hands onto her shoulders.

"Get off of him!" He tried to wrench her off, but a large quantity of irregular darkness burst up from around the two's feet and ripped through Alex's shields to force him away. He was slammed up against the wall above the entrance, and dropped to his knees once he hit the ground. He got up quickly, but looked straight ahead and found the sight of six serpentine demon heads rising up from around the darkness. They roared one after the other and reached past the broken ceiling, no doubt imprinting the madness of fear on the town's populace.

" _Shit…Shit shit shit! No!"_ Alex's pupils shrank, all thoughts eclipsed by the palpitations of fear in his heart. If nothing was done, the Black Beast would be revived again, a fact that even now, Terumi was all too happy to rub into Alex's face.

"You really screwed the pooch now, boy! Once that deplorable beast returns, this world's on a one way ticket to it's destruction! And there's nothing, NOTHING you can do to stop it!"

"No…! No that's not true! T-There has to be some way I can stop it!" He swung his right arm out, wanting nothing more than to defy Terumi's claims. But as hard as he tried, stopping this catastrophe seemed impossible. Nu was never going to let go, and with Ragna able to do nothing but scream until his voice became as feral as the beast itself he would not be able to contribute as well. Once the Black Beast formed, then there was nothing that could be done.

Darkness spread out across the hall, Alex's vision and body darkening as it appeared he would succumb to the emergence of this monster. Through the pressures of this one moment, a single word crawled out of the depths of Alex's subconscious...

" _Kill…"_

"W-Wha…?"

" _It's kill…or be killed…Just like it has always been for us. So go on…Do what needs to be done…"_

Alex's eyes widened, his heart beat getting slower and slower, and through what little he could still see he focused on Nu and Ragna and drew his sword. All was consumed by the darkness for just a few seconds, until a sharp cut and flash of flame could be heard and seen. Then, all at once, the darkness ceased to exist.

With a hollow, motionless look in his eyes, Alex was hunched over in front of Nu and Ragna, his blade held up past his head and the bare edge covered in blood. The two were silent and unmoving, but in just a moment a bloody cut appeared around the circumference of their necks. Ragna's eyes sunk down to look at Alex, and he could only murmur, "W-Why…?"

Then, their heads slid off and plopped to the ground, their bodies collapsing in unison just a moment later. Alex looked over his shoulder, their corpses forever burned into his mind for just the millisecond he could bear to glance at them.

The very second they could be heard falling, Alex's sword left his hand and his face went pale. His vision blurred, and he laid both hands on the ground to support himself while struggling just to breathe. His gasps were hoarse, and his esophagus quickly dried up with every breath he managed to make. He couldn't maintain his Phoenix Form any longer, nor could he fight off the urge to throw up.

As he spewed up a bloody, burning puddle of vomit the size of his head, his mind was wracked by the weight of his sudden decision, and he recalled a particular detail about this world…

" _Someone with a Life Link can be killed if both parties are killed around the exact same time…"_

While it appeared that that factoid had been the deciding factor in why Alex did what he did, it appeared he had difficulty accepting that. He held a hand up and covered his soggy mouth, his eyes shaking as he gave out a raspy cry of regret.

"I-I killed him…I killed…the hero of this world…" He shook his head, unable to look back and see what he had done. The result of his act made little difference. It was his blade, his actions, that led to the demise of Ragna the Bloodedge.

" _wHAtevEr do You MEaN…?"_

"W-What…?" A strange voice in his head tried to drown out any guilt.

" _yOu dIDn't kILl hiM…"_

"Yes, yes I did!" Alex cried out.

" _TERUMI…brOUghT that DETesTaBLe doLL…If IT waSN't FoR hEr…"_

"…Then Ragna…wouldn't have had to die…" Alex began to pull himself out of the state of guilt he had succumbed to as he remembered the existence of that man. He pulled his hand away from his face, eyes turning a dark shade of red as his heart began thumping against his chest like a tribal drum.

He looked around, finding that somehow, the man had slithered his way out of sight. There was a trail of blood left on the ground that was moving towards the entrance. Alex dragged himself to his feet and turned around, following the trail without looking anywhere but straight ahead. He stepped over Ragna and Nu's corpses and left the HQ. The trail kept going, rounding the lobby and passing by Azrael's corpse, which had hardened in his own pool of blood.

Alex stepped over that corpse as well, and looked ahead to find Terumi crawling along the ground towards the staircase outside. Arching his brows, the boy took his time catching up to the man, who had to use his hands to pull himself along. At the edge of the stairs, Alex caught up and wrenched him off the ground by the back of his neck, hoisting him high into the air. Terumi glanced over his left shoulder, his only reaction being a giggle.

Alex didn't say anything in response as Terumi continued to say, "W-What? Haven't…filled out your quota for murders today, P-Phoenix of Destruction?"

"Ragna's life…is on YOUR head, Terumi." Alex squeezed Terumi's neck for added emphasis. Through the pain of his esophagus being pressed together, the man continued to taunt the boy.

"I-I'm not the one wearing his blood on my blade, now a-am I? Eheheh…You're _pathetic_ …Not j-just as an Overlord, but as a goddamn human being…Y-You could have probably figured some other way…to stop the Black Beast from emerging…B-But you chose to slaughter them both in cold blood…" Terumi raised his head up in pride, a grin crossing his face as he laughed some more.

"H-How fucked up in the head can ya be to do something like that? Eh…ehehehehe!"

Alex arched his brows even further, then closed his eyes all the way and shook his head, "I'm going to destroy your vessel, Terumi…And without an Observer to keep you sustained, you can spend the last minutes of your life as the worthless, pathetic spirit you are…"

The boy set his hand on fire, spreading it out across Terumi's entire body while cracking a disheartened scowl, "That's the least I could do for Ragna…"

Terumi didn't even scream. He died laughing like a maniac as a bloody pyre burned his body down to the most basic of ashes that would then scatter to the winds. Alex dropped his hand to his hip and tensed it up into a fist, murmuring a single "Goddamn it…"

Then, without warning, Alex's body was forced to the ground on his hands and knees as an unfathomable pressure pushed down on him. It wasn't an event focused just on himself either. The city, nay, the whole world, appeared to be inflicted by this all-mighty phenomenon. Everything quaked for the span of ten seconds, then stopped just as soon as it began.

When it was over, Alex's body was stiff and woozy, and he found it difficult to stand. He laid a hand on the side of his head and murmured, "What the…hell was that…?"

He looked up and waited for a minute on the off-chance that event were to happen again, but it never came to pass. Though he could not get rid of the sensation that something was very, VERY off, there was something more pressing on his mind. Looking down, he saw that there was no sign of the artifact piece on the broad ring of soot left from Terumi's remains.

"…He must have left it back at his base. If I had to guess, that would be…Ishana? …I'll stop there real quick, then help Shina if she hasn't already dealt with Izanami." With a heavy heart, Alex looked skyward and took off out of Yabiko.

…..

…..

"Click…clack…click…clack…" The sound of footsteps approached the spot where Alex executed Terumi, stopping with a foot down on the ring of soot.

"Ehehehe…Looks like you were worth something after all, Hazama." The voice was exactly the same as 'Terumi's', but with a more outward maniacal tone. The person in question was a man with a hooded yellow cape covered in black markings, wearing large rolled-up cuffs along with long black ribbons and bandages across the arms. He had an open shirt beneath a vest, a loose black tie, two belts, and black pants. Hidden under the shade of his hood was a glowing yellow, slit-pupil right eye and a wide, sadistic grin across the face.

"That hot-headed brat fell for the bait hook, line and sinker! It's almost _insulting_ how easy it was for you to deceive him!" The man pulled his right hand out of his pockets, the familiar curved stone of the artifact piece spinning around on his pointer finger. He then clasped it in his hand and held it in front of his chest, his eye consumed by a hollow green flame.

"Now then…Time for the REAL fun to begin, Phoenix of Destruction!"

 _Next Time: The Eternal Dream_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Izanami II: A World of Death**

 _Back in Ibukido, just a few minutes beforehand…_

The ruins of the grand city were filled with a ghastly air, all thanks to the hollow embers spread around thanks to the powers of Izanami. Only three still stood in defiance of her will, which appeared as indomitable as her presence in the midst of the clouded skies.

She gazed upon her assailants with an emotionless look in her eyes and her body stiff, fitting for the doll-like parts she was composed of. With a creak of the head to the right, she looked down upon her foes, registering them as little more than bugs in her eyes.

Trinity made the first move against the Goddess, performing a swift twirl and then raising Muchorin skyward, proclaiming to the heavens above, "Come forth, grand meteors!"

About fifty feet overhead, a large flaming gate ripped open in the sky and a dozen or so meteors plunged towards Izanami at blinding speeds. With a forced grin of intrigue, Izanami leaned forward and zipped straight ahead, focusing on Trinity as the meteors splashed down into the lake and left a plume of smoke in her wake.

Hakumen caught on to Izanami's movements and hopped to his comrade's protection, defying Izanami's offense with a broad swing of his blade. The Goddess swung her right hand out and latched onto the edge of the blade to halt it entirely. The force of the swing still was unleashed upon the water's surface, splashing a wall of water a hundred feet into the air.

Hakumen, even with both his hands on Ookami's handle, could not overpower Izanami's grip fully. He budge her arm back a couple centimeters, and she took notice of that as her elbow bent just a little out of alignment and backed off with a vanishing dash. Without her intention, the Goddess had also evaded Shina's downward slash from the side.

But Shina would not let a brief failure still her determination. She planted both feet on the ground and made a sharp swerve to the left, clasping the great sword in both hands and holding it behind herself. Once her legs were in alignment, she leapt straight towards Izanami and took a swing. The Goddess split her Magatama into it's three separate parts and arced them around her body, clamping them around the tip of the blade with enough force to hold it and thus Shina away from her reach.

"As though such a dull blade could cut me…" Izanami taunted, and with a slow rise of her right arm beside her head she basked in her heavenly radiance and used the Magatamas to hoist Shina up and then slam her against the ground. When the Goddess pulled her out and prepared to do it again, however, Shina grit her teeth down and focused on her blade, changing it from solid metal to ethereal aura in order to escape.

Then, in the second Izanami was distracted by surprise, Shina pulled back on her blade and swung it out to cut into the center of the Goddess' prevalent aura. The cut into the aura was mended by some more that was stored within Izanami, but Shina could take solace in the fact that the old aura would never resurface.

" _But she's got a lot of aura to spare…I can't let up!"_ Shina tried to swing in the opposite direction to get some more aura, but Izanami instead lunged her body over the blade and jabbed her right fingers down into Shina's face. As the blow was stuck, a streak of blood as black as coal spread out across Izanami's arm for but a second, and Shina was sent hurtling to the ground hard enough for her body to carve out a fifteen foot long crevice.

As Izanami pulled her hand back, she found herself surrounded by three starlight orbs that glowed bright to show they were prepared to fire an attack. Izanami hovered her hands at her hips and looked around at each orb, then brushed her right arm out and summoned the combined Magatama as a ring around her waist. The pods took aim at the sphere and fired out from the ring like arrows, piercing the spheres the moment before they fired.

Right as the arrows were launched, Hakumen leapt over Izanami and sliced his sword straight down atop her head. She looked up right as the blade struck the side of her forehead, and was thus able to summoned a seal below her feet to prevent herself from plunging into the waters below. The pressure split the waters around her until the ground could be seen at the very bottom, stabilizing once she levitated her body upright.

Hakumen was able to make it back to solid ground by dashing in mid-air after his attack, and then raised his sword high above his head and gathered a winter-y energy within. As the ruins trembled, Izanami grinned and perceived the attack as a challenge, thus choosing to wait in place to take it head-on.

Trinity leapt to Hakumen's side and swung the tip of Muchorin at the ground, expanding upon the landscape by creating a brick filled road from the edge to underneath Izanami's feet. The road was enchanted with magic, thus when Hakumen swung his blade down and unleashed the wave of energy, the magic fed into that attack and increased it's size little by little until it towered over the Goddess.

Izamani looked up at the heights the wave could reach and her eyes widened with excitement before she cupped her palms together and swung them into the oncoming energy. She was carried along the wave's path, and as the energy began to cave in around her she thrust a spike of black energy out from her palms and pierced through the center of the wave. The spike split the wave in twine and created a ten foot diameter tunnel through the center.

The Goddess pressed her feet against the back of a fallen girder and bounced off it without making a sound, speeding straight through the tunnel like a missile locked onto a rogue target. Her eyes stuck in a pleasured glare towards Hakumen, she was almost unprepared for an ambush at the end of the tunnel. A dozen blades of aura formed in a ring collapsed upon Izanami, who jerked herself upright and folded her arms inward, surrounding herself in a pale, ghastly ribcage.

The blades dug into the rib cage and shattered, Izanami dropping the barrier a second later only for Shina to charge in and slice her across the gut with the tip of her blade. Izanami was pushed back a foot only due to digging her heels into the air. She then tilted her head a little to the left, and uncaring look in her eye as Shina laid her blade in front of her body and charged it with enough bright aura to overpower Izanami's heavenly glow.

She then grasped the blade in both hands and flew above Izanami, bringing down the sword like a cleave and leaving a trail in it's wake. Izanami dashed back but Shina kept in pursuit, leaning forward and slicing the air in front of her three times to disperse the energy she carried into crescent waves that flew through Izanami's body and cut off bits of her aura.

The Goddess didn't even flinch and thrust her right hand out, sending her Magatamas forward to stab into Shina's vulnerable arms twice each. Shina's forearms were scarred and left slowly bleeding, but she stopped the assault by coating them in a thick enough layer of aura and then speeding behind Izanami while surrounded by a half-ovular barrier of aura.

She turned around and grinned, grabbing Shina's blade with her right hand at the center of the edge as she attempted an attack. However, Shina wrenched her hands free of the handle and then coated her right fist in a spike-knuckled gloves, winding it around and around with the speed of a blender fan before socking Izanami in the face with all she had.

Her enemy sent flying, Shina called her blade back into her grasp and reared it over her right shoulder, flying high above the embodiment of Death and preparing to plunge the blade straight into her chest. Izanami stalled herself over the center of Trinity's brick road and hunched over, prepared to charge at Shina when a quick glance over her shoulder showed Hakumen attacking from behind with bladed pointed and ready to stab into her vessel.

On top of that, Trinity commanded the bricks to gather around in a whirlwind, confining Izanami inside of a tower and leaving her at the mercy of her foe's blades. The Goddess, left to her own devices, could be seen smirking under the light of her Magatama's glow, while also cupping her hands together in a circle before her chest.

"Foolish mortals, so chained you are to the clutches of time…" Absorbing energy into her body, she opened her eyes, who irises had shrunk to the size of dimes, and declared with echoing authority, "Whilst I, whom remain unshackled, hold it's power in my thrall!"

A sphere of influence expanded out from Izanami's body across the entire planet in but an instance, turning her skin black and her clothing pitch white while the atmosphere of everything else became a foggy grey. Shina and Hakumen were frozen, their blades having pierced an inch into the tower Trinity had constructed, and all were unaware of what she had done. Izanami, able to move freely within the frozen time, chuckled at the efforts of her so-called slayers.

"Allow me to show you, pitiful heroes, how much your efforts shall amount for naught…!" The Goddess turned her sides towards the blades and surrounded herself in the skeletal cage, gathering energy inside until the cage burst apart into the form of a chaotic whirlwind of howling violet souls.

Time resumed at her command, and the whirlwind tore the tower down to the very atoms as it expanded out. Hakumen and Shina were both surprised for the moment before the whirlwind blew them away, shooting Shina like a cannonball through a ten foot layer of stone while Hakumen pushed his weight down to make a hard landing and grind up the ground as he broke to a stop.

Trinity, now in a cold sweat as she sensed a disturbing change in the air, swung to face Hakumen and called out his name in concern, only to be surrounded by Izanami's Magatamas that were aiming right at her. She stabbed Muchorin into the ground, trying to summon up a barrier, but only got halfway when the Magatamas fired upon her with thin, scathing beams.

The heat burned her delicate skin and parts of her clothes for a few seconds, the pain forcing her to drop Muchorin and planted her hands and knees on the ground. It stopped when Izanami called the Magatamas back to her, not out of a sense of mercy, but because she had a more crucial target in mind. Tearing up the ground as she flew right above it, Izanami went right for Hakumen and swung her hands out, ramming them into his blade as he held it horizontally before his body to accost her.

Her collision fractured the ground around them, sending the debris levitating into the air while Izanami's hair hovered around like a set of tendrils. She planted her sharp, doll-like toes into the ground and stared at her reflection in the warrior's mask, sensing not even an iota of fear across his entire body.

"You fight for an unworthy cause, _Jin Kisaragai_ …Your servitude to that infernal Master Unit has caused you nothing but misery and despair!" Izanami hoped to breach the hardened exterior to inflict the soul within with an agonizing doubt, and twisted that knife in further while widening her eyes in a frenzied glare.

"So long as she is allowed to hold dominion over this 'dream', your struggles shall never truly come to an end. You will suffer, eternal and alone, until this world is wiped clean of all who live in it!"

"…Empty Sky Form," Hakumen's blade glowed bright, and his hair spread out like the many tails of a mythical kitsune, "Autumn's Harvest!"

Hakumen wrenched his sword out of Izanami's grasp, and then in a single second slashed the air in front of him a hundred times over. Izanami was struck and pushed back by every blinding white cut, her feet digging deeper and deeper into the ground and grinding them down like they had made contact with sandpaper. She was forced to grit her teeth and bear the attack until the very end, where Hakumen focused on the Goddess' neck, and sliced an even cut towards it even from where he stood.

A glint of light from a thin, curved streak appeared as Izanami's neck was struck and her head hunched over. Hakumen turned his back to the Goddess and pointed Ookami at the ground while it was grasped in his right hand, reprimanding her attempts at manipulating without dropping his stoicism even a bit, "If my journey shall forever be a cold and bitter one, so be it. I knew what fate entailed for me the moment I took up this blade, so try as you might…Your words shall never lead me astray, Death Goddess."

Izanami creaked her head back up into place and tilted it to the side, her hair draped like a curtain in the presence of the dawn. With an emotionless glare, she lauded the man's resolve with heartless mockery, "Then tread that road to Oblivion!"

Her body budged, ready to lunge at Hakumen with all she had, only for a eight golden chains to wrap themselves tightly around her limbs. Izanami glanced back just to catch a glimpse of Trinity fighting just to stand, then with a downward tap of the Muchorin she pulled Izanami's back to the ground and dragged her back.

The journey over was rough, her head smashing through thick concrete at least twice, but what awaited her would be even rougher. Shina was already in the midst of leaping into her path of travel, blade held in a downward plunge towards the Goddess' abdomen.

Izanami widened her eyes and froze time once again, the tip of the blade ending up resting atop her hard and cold skin. She called her Magatama back and used them to slice the chains off in one clean sweep, then slid her body along the ground, letting the front of her dress tear to the bottom of the chest. She bent her head back until the neck made a loud "Snap!" and left her chin perfectly even with the rest of her body, which allowed her to make her escape without a scratch to her form.

She creaked upright like a puppet put on display then twirled around, swinging her right arm up while simultaneously unfreezing time. Shina planted her sword in the crevice Izanami left behind and looked up and down a few times with a blank stare, watching as the Goddess summoned a hollow grey skull that crashed against her body like a tidal wave against the shore.

Shina was thrown back, bits of her armor being chipped off and sending her body tumbling into the lake. Trinity stiffened for a moment upon seeing her comrade's efforts fail, but then swung Muchorin forward and summoned a swarm of flying bombs around Izanami's body that blew up immediately.

Trinity had to brace herself from the gale raised up from her own blast, but the Goddess was unimpeded and charged through the explosion towards Trinity. Izanami stabbed her right fingers out and pierced the girl's chest, hoisting her off the ground as her mouth went agape. As she began to pull the arm out to wrench the heart free, she found her limb being ensnared by a sticky substance stretching out from the body.

The body melted down entirely into that same substance and stuck to the ground, stiffening up until it was too hard for Izanami to break free from. Muchorin dropped to the ground, and Trinity over from the left to pick it up and jam it into the Goddess' gut. With a face far braver than her immature demeanor would suggest she'd be capable of making, the Platinum Alchemist charged a couple gigatons worth of magical energy into the tip of her Nox.

"We will not lose hope…Not while we have something worth fighting for!" With her hope and determination providing additional fuel to the Nox, Trinity unleashed a massive beam of starry light that eclipsed Izanami and breeched the clouds above in an instant, even managing to escape the planet's atmosphere a couple seconds later.

When the light of the beam faded, Trinity dropped down to her knees, using Muchorin as a means of keeping herself propped up. With some heavy pants she closed her eyes, the heart-shaped pupils flickering into view for just a moment. But fortunately for her she was able to stay in control of the body with a helping of energy courtesy of Shina, who stood beside her drenched from head to toe and algae stuck inside of the cracks on her armor.

"Whew…thank you, Miss Aurora." Trinity said, standing back upright while the girl flashed her a brief but cheery smile.

"You looked like you needed a refill Trinity, glad to help!" She then returned to a more stern expression and swerved her head to look towards the sky. Izanami was thirty feet of the ground, looking no worse for the wear besides some burn marks on her skin.

"…Is there nothing that can faze her?" Trinity muttered as she could sense her body being penetrated by Izanami's hollow gaze.

"We have to stick with Alex's plan. It's our best shot." Shina said, putting all her faith into his words.

Trinity, however, looked at her and asked, "And what if he's wrong? What if your powers can't affect her?"

Shina's firm frown quivered and she thought _"W-Well…Izanami's aura is much different than Dizzy's…So maybe…"_

When doubt seemed to be creeping into her mind, Shina shook her head to be rid of it and cracked a perhaps ill-timed joke, "If he's wrong, we won't be alive long enough to regret it!"

"T-That's…" Trinity stumbled on her words, finding that attitude completely unbelievable. Yet, even so, she let out a sigh and chose to accept it, spending the brainpower instead on how to deal with Izanami, who was strangely silent.

"I just don't know how either of us can deal with her time-stopping voodoo, Trinity…" Shina remarked with nonchalance as she rubbed her algae covered chin in her left hand, blinking twice and swiping it off as Trinity gave her a blank stare of confusion.

"Time…stop? You claim she has the power to stop time?"

" I'm 115% certain of it!" Shina exclaimed while whipping her pointer finger up at the Goddess.

"…That would explain how she's been able to escape our traps in time," Trinity laid a hand under her chin to think on that, then glanced to the left to find Hakumen approaching the center of the battlefield, "I wonder if Lord Hakumen's pieced this together as well?"

The warrior's thoughts were known only to himself, but it was clear that at this moment he was staring up with great suspicion at Izanami's lack of movement. As the man gripped his right hand on the handle of his blade and began to pull it out, only for his, Shina and Trinity's bodies to freeze up and get forced to the ground by a powerful, unexplainable phenomenon that was sweeping not just this battlefield, but the entire world in it's grasp.

"W-What is the meaning of this?!" Hakumen exclaimed, exposing a tone of surprise for once in his life. Trinity and Shina tried to prop up with their weapons, but the power that shook the world was able to hold them down no matter how hard they pushed.

"I-Izanami! What have you unleashed?!" Trinity exclaiming, only for the Goddess to descend to the ground unabated with a wide grin and hellish laughter as her response.

"Why, Platinum Alchemist, this is not my doing in the slightest…This power you are bearing witness to…Is an attempted planet-wide phenomenon intervention from the Master Unit herself!" Upon that declaration, the sensation came to an end, giving the perplexed heroes room to breath.

"T-The Master Unit? Why…why would-" As Shina thought on what had just happened with many questions plaguing her mind, Izanami widened her eyes and let her irises shrink to facilitate ecstasy, declaring proudly to them all, "Her chosen 'hero' has fallen! Ragna the Bloodedge…IS DEAD!"

Shina's jaw dropped after a couple dry breaths, while Trinity widened her eyes and proclaimed, "T-That's impossible! Yuuki Teru-"

"Hahaha!" Izanami's laughter was comparable to a giddy teenager, but burned Trinity's spirit greater than any flame by declaring, "Is dead as well!"

"T-Then how…?"

"Isn't it obvious? Perhaps you wish to deny the truth…I know one amongst you already has begun to do so." Izanami twisted and tilted her head to glare at Shina, who shook her own head to deny any understanding of what was happening.

"Why, the one to blame for the 'hero's' demise…Is none other than your precious Elemental Overlord."

"No! You're lying!" Shina exclaimed the moment she was done, a sentiment that Hakumen agreed with as he drew his blade towards Izanami and drew her attention with an accusation, "For what reason should we believe anything you have to say, Death Goddess?"

Izanami creaked her head back to face him, spreading her mouth wide open and relishing in the ecstasy that shook her body whole, "Have you not figured it out, White Susano'o? Surely, in that withered sham of a knight's armor, you've sensed something familiar about me…"

Hakumen paused and held his blade in both hands, taking one step back and cautiously pointing the blade at the Goddess, "…Who are you really, Izanami?"

"Fufufu…Just as your souls are powerful enough to manifest a Drive, so too was the Master Unit able to do the same." Izanami then gestured her right hand out beside her head and called forth hellish black flame to etch a symbol above her palm, one that looked almost identical to the to the one seen above the Cauldron back in Ishana.

"And **I** am that power given flesh. **I** …am the Master Unit's Drive!"

"That's impossible! The Master Unit is a machine, it can't manifest a Drive!" Trinity proclaimed with certainty, to which Izanami closed her eyes and clasped the flame tight between her fingers before responding, "Ah…but who ever said the Master Unit is a machine? Inside the Master Unit lies a pitiful, pathetic little girl…Who has cursed this sinful world to exist as an eternal 'dream' all so she can be 'saved' by her 'hero."

"As I am her power made manifest, so too am I able to know when and why the Master Unit resets the world. Every time that Ragna the Bloodedge became one with that pitiful doll made in her image, the Master Unit would reset time to before the start of the Dark War to preserve her 'hero'."

Izanami then turned to look towards Trinity and Shina, floating in place with a curious air around her as she said, "And yet, the 'hero' has perished…And naught for a lack of trying, the Master Unit appears unable to reset the world this time. Has that hopeless child finally succumbed to the nightmare of her own reality? Or perhaps that interloping Overlord is yet again to blame for this."

"Alex…would NEVER do anything like that!" Shina exclaimed, but the hint of doubt in her voice was nothing more than an alluring bait for Izanami to sink her teeth into.

"You speak only out of misguided respect for your compatriot…But you cannot deny reality for what it is. You and that boy are nothing more than anomalies in our world…Infectious germs who have long since overstayed their welcome!"

Shina's hands started to shake as a rage crawled out of her heart. She wanted to leap out and attack Izanami, unable to respond with just mere words. Yet, as her feet budged just a centimeter off the ground, she watched as Ookami was placed upon Izanami's right shoulder close to her neck, and the assuring presence of Hakumen stilled her blade for a while longer.

Izanami closed her eyes and scoffed, telling the lone warrior off without a care, "Even knowing all this, you still stand in defiance of my power, White Susano'o?"

"There is no reason for me to stand at your side, Death Goddess. Your words are wasted."

"Even though the demise of Ragna the Bloodedge renders your existence even more redundant than it already was? Jest me, o'mighty warrior…As to why you still fight for the sake of these pitiful humans."

"…Humans are weak of heart, but for as long as I have lived I have bared witness to both their sins _and_ their benevolence. But you…have culled hatred and fear into their hearts, feeding them your lies, and spreading chaos across the lands. You, Izanami, are the true disease that infects this world!"

"So, you seek to remove me from this world, as though you are a white blood cell? Ha! A role befitting the armor you wear, but a laughable gesture all the same!" With a roughish brush of the hand she knocked Ookami aside and spun around, staring straight into Hakumen's mask as he swung his blade back.

"Death is incurable…But do not despair, White Susano'o…I do not discriminate. All present on this world, whether from it or naught, shall perish all the same…Starting with the three of you!" Izanami got on all fours and lunged right at Hakumen's face, attempting to strike it with a stabbing blow from her right fingers. He deflected the attack aside and then made one hop back, slashing his sword out towards Izanami's neck.

She blocked the blade with her right hand and then used her Magatamas to clasp onto the sides of Hakumen's armor, picking up and throwing him across the ground. He held onto his blade and stood up, while Izanami raised her right hand above her head, the souls of the damned coiling around as they merged into a hellish, burning sphere that grew to be as big as her body in a couple seconds.

Shina wanted to go in to help, but Trinity held her back with the top of Muchorin while saying, "Lord Hakumen can handle this on his own. Please, Ms. Aurora, let us observe for now."

"B-But…!"

"You'll be better suited to fight once you've calmed down a little. Don't worry…If Izanami approaches," Trinity turned and winked her right eye while cuddling Muchorin close to her chest, a gesture far cuter than Shina expected of a woman of her personality, "I'll be right at your side to fend her off."

"T-Thanks Trinity, again…" Shina forced a smile and knew she was right, then continued to observe Hakumen's fight against Izanami.

The Goddess launched her sphere towards Hakumen, who stood his ground and raised his left gauntlet up to create a shield for protection. The sphere collided and grinded the shield up, pushing Hakumen back and heaving large chunks of stone at his heels. With a tense grunt as bits of his armor chipped off, Hakumen concentrated all his willpower on the shield to increase it's size and turn it red, to which Izanami swung her arms out and fueled the sphere with even more souls.

"You cannot escape, White Susano'o. Accept your end!"

"…Empty Sky Form…" Hakumen grabbed his sword in both hands and swung it back until his body could not twist anymore. Izanami widened her eyes and exclaimed "Futile!" before once more freezing time.

She flew straight at the warrior, prepared to pierce through her still active sphere to get to Hakumen. But then, through the monochrome lifelessness of the frozen time, a scar twice the width of the sphere cleaved itself into existence as Hakumen's declaration finished echoing out, "Winter's Riposte!"

Izanami froze up, widening her eyes as Hakumen managed to slice through the sphere and cross the distance five feet behind her in an instance. His blade was laid forward with the tip touching the ground, and Izanami was sent crashing down by the impact of Hakumen's attack. She flew towards the warrior's feet, and he spun around to strike her head with an upward kick. She was sent spinning into the air, where Hakumen stabbed his blade straight into the chest to send her flying away.

She landed on all fours and dug both nails and toes into the ground, tearing it apart while carrying a frenzied look on her face with pride. She hunched down and gathered the souls of the damned around her, creating three serpentine monstrosities with the heads of the humans skulls, then set off like a rocket towards Hakumen.

He raised his sword horizontally and summoned a body-sized shield to intercept Izanami's attack, causing the atmosphere to be consumed in a blanket of white while him and her were painted over in a pitch black ink.

"Empty Sky True Form…"

As Hakumen prepared his counterattack, Izanami rose up from the depths of her serpent's charge and summoned a spider-like skeleton symbol that represented her own power. Half of the white void was consumed in the grey-like fog of her domain over the frozen time, and as her body was bathed in monochrome she proclaimed to her foe, "Time holds no thrall over me, White Susano'o!"

"Judgment of the Sword!" Hakumen still swung his sword straight out and struck at Izanami with dozens of inky streaks that represented his raw power carving into time and space. The Death Goddess' eyes went a hollow white as the ghoulish screams of the departed filled the realm, and she swung out at each attack that came her with equal if not greater might.

Each time she made contact with Hakumen's blows, the streaks shattered from sight and her approach to the warrior inched closer, and the screams she summoned forth screeched loud enough to shatter buildings. Once right next to the warrior, Izanami crossed her arms against his neck and twisted her wrists around to clasp it in her cold embrace.

"Know the folly of your arrogance, Jin Kisaragi!"

"Absolute Retribution…" Hakumen's unwavering words left Izanami stricken with disbelief, as the warrior drew his blade back in one hand and called back all the power he had unleashed, Ookami becoming emblazoned with the white flames of purity.

"Impurity Rend!" He stabbed his blade straight into Izanami's chest, causing her back to rupture open, a bloody splash of ink flying out across her domain over the frozen time and causing the whole thing to shatter a moment later. The pain of that attack left the Goddess shaken, even though no wounds were visible on her body.

To Shina and Trinity, they knew not what had occurred, but assumed that Hakumen was in control of the battle. Shina gave him a triumphant cheer, but the warrior knew better than to let his guard down even if he gave the girl the briefest of glances. He then took a couple steps back and raised Ookami in front of his body, holding a hand on his the center of the blade and looking the Goddess straight in the eyes.

"You shall be eradicated for your sins, Death Goddess…" His body shook as energy rose up around him, and he began to incite his creed, "I am the White Void, I am the cold steel, I am the just sword-"

Izanami's head rose to life and she lunged up at Ookami, wrapping it around her spindly fingers while piercing Hakumen's armor with her maddening gaze, "A sword you've troubled me with for long enough…!"

The tremors worsened as Izanami's grin grew ever wider. Hakumen grunted and tried to pull back, but she wouldn't let go. Then, the tremors came to a complete and utter stop as the Goddess spread her arms apart, ripping Hakumen's Ookami to pieces and scattering them to the wayside.

Shina and Trinity's mouths went agape, the Platinum Alchemist letting out a quiet gasp as she watched the pieces of the Nox Nyctores, which her friend Nine had worked so hard to make, clatter upon the ground like worthless scrap.

"S-She broke…A Nox Nyctores…" A lifeless whisper escaped her lips, her body now wanting nothing more than to collapse in defeat. Shina in turn looked on, both awe-struck and frightened by Izanami's power.

" _Without Ookami…He can't perform the Time Killer. H-How are we supposed to stop her now?"_

Izanami glanced aside, absorbing their fear into her being as she drew her head back and broke into laughter, Hakumen seemingly unable to respond to it at all.

"You put such iron-clad faith in your sword, White Susano'o…But without that or your armor, you are nothing more than a worthless soul shackled to this world by a war of your own design…And you know it."

Izanami surrounded her right hand in the condensed shape of a spearhead made of souls, raising it above her head before declaring, "Surrender to my mercy, Jin Kisaragi, for I offer you a most welcome death!"

She stabbed her hand down towards his neck, but before the blow was struck Hakumen raised his right hand and snatched hers out of the air by the wrist. Unflinching in his gaze, he looked her straight on and crunched her bare knuckles in his iron vice.

"I require no blade to deal with the likes of you. So long as my soul is shackled to this armor, I will carry out my given duty, and put an end to your malevolent ilk!" Hakumen's hair then rose up as the power began to rise around his body again, with him declaring to his bewildered foe, "I am the White Void…I AM the cold steel…I AM the just sword…With these hands of mine shall I uproot the evils that entwine this world in chaos, and cleanse them in the fires of destruction! I AM Hakumen, the END has COME!"

With his other hand, Hakumen grabbed Izanami's face and drove her into the ground, heaving up a hefty chunk of all around him. Shina's mouth was left agape, and through his determination knew she couldn't stand by any longer.

"Trinity!" Shina yelled out to overpower the chaotic battle unfolding in front of her. The Platinum Alchemist turned her head and stuttered out a weak, "Y-Yes?"

"Can Muchorin allow you to create other Nox Nyctores?" Shina asked with great urgency, and Trinity widened her eyes and answered "I-I'm sure it could, but the amount of magical energy required to do so would be more than I could handle. And once I lose control of this body, I doubt you'd be able to provide me with enough energy to gain it back…"

"So…we're looking at a one-n-done kinda deal, huh?" Shina inquired, her face looking a little more sullen upon Trinity nodding her head in response. The girl looked at Hakumen, watching as he tanked the onslaught Izanami unleashed upon him with all he had. Though he put on a tough act, it was clear he was slowing down.

" _Not good! At this rate Hakumen's going to run out of energy and be dragged back into the Boundary, and I still have to cut down Izanami's aura to leave her vulnerable to the Time Killer…"_ She then glanced at Trinity, arching her brows up with a somber glaze to her eyes, _"And Izanami could always kill Trinity before she can create a second Ookami."_

Shina lowered her head and socked the sides of it with bare knuckles twice, closing her eyes to go into a state of deep concentration, _"Come on Shina, there has to be something I can do! If not, we're all screwed!"_

Shina knew digging deep into what she knew about this world wasn't going to be enough. No, to figure out a way to make this whole plan come together, she'd have to reach into her own heritage, and recall the lessons she had been taught about combat with others. And from that wellspring of Aurian history, Shina fished out something that she'd never have considered otherwise.

Widening her eyes open, Shina blankly stared out towards Izanami, for a moment doubting her own idea, _"B-But if I use that…Then that means-"_

There was no room for doubt, not now, and not ever again. One brief flash of her younger sister's face was more than enough for Shina, and she swallowed down any hesitation with a tense and hardy gulp and stared straight at the Goddess with the ferocity of a warrior awakening within her pupils.

" _No, I can't falter! My sister, my mother, and everyone from my home and this world are counting on me! I have to have faith in this plan, just like Alex had faith in me with his!"_ Taking one firm step forward, Shina shunted her blade out in the grasp of her right hand and exclaimed with resounding vigor, "IZANAMI!"

Through the echoes of chaotic combat, Izanami heard the call of her name and turned her head to face the person responsible, Hakumen himself stopping to glance at Shina as she stood alone, a single radiant light amidst the dark clouds of turmoil that covered this world at present. With the wind grazing her hair and the urge to run away buried under heaping courage, Shina held her sword at her hip and made her proclamation known to all who watched.

"You've done enough to the people of this world! For their hopes and dreams, I invoke the Rite of Singularity, and challenge you to single combat, Hades;Izanami!"

 _Next Time: The Echoes of Change_


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Nine the Phantom II: Burial of the Black Witch**

 _Back in Japan…_

The battle between Nine and her family continued to rage on. With the help of her familiar Hi-no-Kagutsuchi, she's able to the two split apart with relative ease, making it far more difficult to coordinate their efforts on the Great Sage herself. Nine, at the moment, attacked her former husband with a volley of fireballs she summoned in a ring around her body.

Jubei's agility allowed him to keep away from the fireballs, even as they scorched his way with impressive accuracy. He had to keep one blade in his mouth and stay on all fours for now, Nine refusing to give him a chance to pounce her out of the sky. When the fireballs had all burst on the ground, she curved her lower arms together into a circle and created a condensed ball of wind.

Cupping the sphere around her hands, she thrust it above her head for a moment and then pushed the air apart before the chest, launching a wild green cyclone at Jubei. The beastkin stood up and plucked the Musashi from his damp mouth, slicing forward with one paw to cleave through the cyclone in twine. Nine then dove down as the blade was pointed at the ground, putting surprising strength into an explosive kick into Jubei's face.

The cat was sent tumbling back, the back of his skull striking the ground and leaving his head throbbing in pain even as he made like his kin and landed on his feet. He coiled his paws around the handle of Musashi and then pulled the other blade out from the bottom of his sheath. Before he could even blink, he sliced a firm "X" into the air and sent the projectile flying straight at Nine.

She grabbed the edge of her hat and with a smirk disappeared into a puff of fire, reappearing on the other side of the projectile with her left hand swung out. At her beck and call, a rift tore up above Jubei, summoning a rain of fire arrows in three directions towards and around him. He held one blade up to let the rain be sliced upon contact while holding the other one backhanded behind his back.

With his one eye glinting, Jubei spun around and created a slicing whirlwind with one uppercut motion of his held back blade. The arrows scattered across the battlefield, a couple of them flying into Nine's body and making her take pause. Jubei sprinted right towards her and grasped one blade in two paws, taking aim at her gut. With his blade nicking into the upper section of her abdomen, Nine just managed to warp back out of the way.

She emerged with her right leg already kicked up into her hat, which fired a beam of raw magical energy at Jubei. He crossed his blades before his body and let the energies split up upon making contact with them, lessening their overall impact with his body. Nine didn't wait for the beam to finish, and warped above Jubei and blasted him with a downward spray of lightning.

He was zapped with a pure one hundred-thousand volts, his body becoming as black as coal with his peculiar skeleton appearing in view for a couple moments. When the lightning stopped, Jubei hunched over just a bit while Nine landed on the ground behind him with a coy lowering of the front of her hat.

"Age has caught up with you, Mitsuyoshi…" Nine remarked with biting scorn. On a turn of a dime though, Jubei turned around and sliced the ground, sending a wave of cutting energy towards the left side of Nine's body. She glanced over her shoulder and spun her right leg back, the side of the energy just about to graze her toes.

"These ol' bones may be as a brittle as bugs, but my legs still got the spring of a summer's hare…So don't count me out yet, Nine." Jubei held his blades out at differing lengths, the beastly glow refusing to leave his eyes.

"Heh…I had no intention of going easy on you, lover." Matching his determination with an unyielding grin, Nine leapt back and spread her cape as wings, cupping her hands into fists and wrapping them both in the hottest flames she could muster.

As their fight continued, Kokonoe was left to deal with her mother's familiar, a hulking, flaming monstrosity that was beyond explanation for science. Whenever it swung it's muscular arms at her it pushed the very air aside like it was a cloud of dust, and her arsenal of missiles and lasers couldn't even bite it's skin.

It didn't make a sound beyond it's gravely roars, yet for it's supposed mindlessness it was loyal to Nine to an absolute fault. Kokonoe busted out a sledgehammer around her right arm and punched it at the demon's fist with all she had, but the hammer section succumbed to it's overwhelming might and crumbled to dust in a couple seconds.

Kokonoe drew her fist back and tucked it into her right pocket, leaping back while growling in frustration. The demon emerged it's upper body fully from the realm it lived in, raising both it's fists up and slamming them against the ground. A shockwave of fire was unleashed all-around him, too high for Kokonoe to feasibly leap over on her own.

So instead, she employed some quick thinking and used her teleporters to warp herself past the wall of fire, taking out her missile launchers and launching a full salvo into the demon's exposed underbelly. The monster took a couple dozen missiles and didn't even look tickled, and had enough energy to swing it's right hand out to try and grab her.

She sacrificed her missile launchers in order to escape, watching with awe as the monster crunched them down into a ball of scrap and chomped it down until it was molten magma drooling from it's mouth. Kokonoe then widened her eyes and whipped out her freeze gun, setting it to absolute zero degree temperatures and firing it at the beast's mouth.

The magma's temperatures were cooled, turning it into a thick and cracked stone that jammed Kagutsuchi's mouth shut like a thick layer of super-strong glue. With a cocky chuckle, Kokonoe put her gun away and replaced with a second sledgehammer before exclaiming, "Open wide, asshole!"

She leapt at the beast's mouth and pile-drove the sledgehammer into the center of the stone. Then, applying her other hand to the top of the device, she fired the hammer straight through the stone and deep into the beast's fiery gullet, the ensuing force launching her safely away. She then tapped another button and the hammer went off with a deafening explosion contained within Kagutsuchi, scattering the stone out in meteoric chunks.

The beast plummeted to the ground, it's arms dropping down with the force of boulders rolling off a mountainside while the back of it's body dragged the rift down with him. Kokonoe grinned for but a moment, as Kagutsuchi pounded it's hands down and forced itself up, shaking the atmosphere with a loud, high-pitched screech that made the Grimalkin clasped her hands against he ears before they bled out.

When the demon was done, it's horns fumed with a furious blaze and it set it's sights on Kokonoe, who pulled her hands away from her ringing eardrums and mumbled, "Hmph, stubborn little bastard ain't ya?"

As Kokonoe was about to draw out another tool of the trade, a powerful seismic force penetrated the Eclipse Field and dropped her and all others inside to their knees. She widened her eyes, both her and Nine recognizing this event in unison.

"This is…a phenomenon intervention?!" But it was Kokonoe who went on to grit her teeth and establish with puzzled certainty in her work, "B-But nothing like that should be able to penetrate the Eclipse Field!"

No sooner than the event began, it was over, allowing the addled fighters to lift themselves off the ground and look at one another, Jubei and Kokonoe giving suspecting glares towards Nine in particular. She turned away, covering her eyes with the front of her hat, and cracked a wicked smirk.

"What are you looking at me for? We all know who the culprit is." She then began to chuckle louder, sounding quite excited about what she had just experienced.

"Only the Master Unit could perform a phenomenon intervention that powerful! And if she is interfering on a world-wide scale, then that could only mean one thing…" She spun around, revealing an ecstatic glee in her eyes as she proclaimed, "The 'hero'…Ragna the Bloodedge…Is dead!"

"What?!" Jubei exclaimed in sheer disbelief.

"W-What the hell?! That doesn't make any goddamn sense!" Kokonoe exclaimed with a similar tone.

"Believe whatever you will, it doesn't matter to me…But shouldn't you be more concerned with the aftermath of the Master Unit's intervention? Or rather…the _lack_ of an aftermath?"

Nine took upon a more grim expression and started pacing back and forth, coddling her arms under her chest as she explained to her wary company, "If the Master Unit chose to reset the world, it would be instantaneous. None of us would even know it happened. Yet…everything is the same. As powerful as this Eclipse Field of yours is, my dear, dear daughter…It cannot halt the Master Unit's power."

"Then, something _else_ stopped the Master Unit?" Kokonoe said, finding such a notion quite hokey…At first.

"…Wait a second." With a recollecting murmur she glanced aside and realized that there might be something that could be responsible for holding back the Master Unit.

"Son of a bitch…! It's that brat's damn stone again!" Her sudden declaration took both Jubei and Nine by surprise, as they looked to her and found themselves inquiring simultaneously, "What do you mean, 'stone'?"

"The stone that can control time and space…I have no doubt that somehow, that thing is responsible for interfering with the Master Unit."

"He had the original Overlord's Gaia Temporis on him…Why didn't I put two-n-two together sooner?" Jubei said with eyes closed in shame.

"To think that troublesome stone would show it's face around here again…" Nine cracked a slight grin, "Still, it seems I will have to thank that child twice now. If the Master Unit is occupied by that stone's power, then it'll be even easier to deal with it with Requiem."

"But first, I still must tend to the two of you!" Nine pushed herself back and thrust her hands out, spraying a cone of ice towards Jubei. The beastkin's draw was quick as a flash of light, and he sliced through the frost with little effort.

Meanwhile, Kagutsuchi flared back to life and slipped into it's rift, the roar it left behind reminding Kokonoe of it's existence. As she turned to face it though, another rift opened in the ground and the demon punched her with a firm uppercut. With knuckles dug into her gut, she coughed up a dry heave of blood and was launched straight up to the ceiling of the barrier.

Dragging his upper body out of the flames and anchoring himself to the ground with his hulking arms, the demon jerked it's head forward and began widening it's maw in tune with the growth of an orb of flames. It had difficulty raising his head up, but when he could did so in one hard jerking motion while launching a bright, high-speed fireball skyward.

Kokonoe peeled off the barrier and saw the fireball coming her way. Her quick wits at the forefront, she whipped out a drill arm and stabbed it downward while putting the rotation at maximum. Had her arm not been locked into the machine it would've been woefully twisted out of alignment, but because of this precaution she managed to stay on the straight path towards the fireball and pierce through it.

But Kagutsuchi didn't stop at one, and prepared to fire another. Distracting himself from the battle with his wife for a moment, Jubei threw one blade like an assassin's dagger and pierced the roof of the demon's mouth. Lava spewed forth from the wound on the other side, oozing down atop it's skull like a stream of blood.

Jubei spun his other blade to the left and sliced through a fireball from Nine, who stamped her foot on the ground and summoned three dark colored fireballs around the beastkin. Before he could blink the fireballs burst, packing the strength of TNT within each sphere. Jubei braced himself against the strength of the blasts and wasted little time in dashing out of them towards Kagutsuchi.

Though his speed was greater than a high-octane car, Nine was able to keep up with her flight, and she threw her hands at the ground to command plantations to grow from nothing. Ravaging roots and grasping greens spread around like wildfire, all converging towards Jubei. He sheathed his other blade and got on all fours, increasing his speed even further and zipping underneath the roots as they tried to collapse upon him.

As he neared the end of this wild jungle, however, a tiny flare dropped before his eyes, and just contact with the tip of a blade of grass was enough to ignite a raging inferno. Nine hovered over it and laughed with right fingers laid below her chin, enjoying the crackle of flames below her. But while she was dealing with Jubei, Kokonoe had taken advantage of the distraction he provided to pull Musashi from Kagutsuchi's skull and stab the drill into it.

Though she was only able to get a couple inches in before the drill began to melt down into seething liquid metal. She pulled her hand out and Kagutsuchi reared his head back, with her using her feline reflexes to flip off and land on her hind legs. The demon swung it's arms around wildly and threw out the occasional screech of pain until Nine landed on his head and stamped her right heel into the hole in his skull.

"Interesting attack…But you're all alone now, dear daughter." Nine pooled her magical energies into the beast, whose upper jaw was forced open like a rusted hinge, creating a sphere of unfathomable power within. Kokonoe's body was pushed back, and her skin was riddled with goosebumps. Frozen stiff, she tried to run calculations through her head faster than the fastest computer.

Every result ended the same, she would not survive the incoming assault, and there's nothing she could do TO stop it. With a glance to the left at the dying flames, Kokonoe could only grumble quietly, "Damn it old man…I was hoping you'd make it through this."

She squinted her eyes shut for a moment and then looked back at the energy, which was reaching a climax in it's charge. Kagutsuchi bit down on the sphere, finishing it's creation, and with a swing of her right hand forward Nine was ready to attack.

Kokonoe closed her eyes as the beam was unleashed, and for a moment she was starting to experience an emotion she never had before…Regret. She had never expected her end to come so soon, leaving her with many things she never got to say. Telling Tager the truth about his past, doing something about Roy, even reconciling with her father came to mind the most.

As the blinding lights of fire and magic came towards her, she was not willing to accept it, and with a frustrated roar she pulled out two giant mechanical gauntlets and stuffed her hands into them.

"Like hell I'm going down that easily!" Even if it meant little more than delaying the inevitable, she slammed her palms into the oncoming beam and dug her feet into the ground. Her heels were roughened up, reddening to the point that they'd break open if she went another foot further. The gauntlets deteriorated at a rapid pace, but their thickness ensured that Kokonoe got another ten seconds to come up with a plan.

Yet, even with a second wind, she still couldn't come up with anything to counter her mother's incredible magic. Nine crossed her arms under her chest and proclaimed, "You inherited my stubbornness, I'll give you that…But there's not a single man or woman alive who can conquer me alone!"

"Then good thing she isn't!" Jubei's voice cried out all of a sudden, his slightly charred body flying forth with both blades in hand into the path of the beam. He sliced the end of it down and stepped in front of it, using his other blade to hold back the beam. Kokonoe lowered her palms and both her and Nine let out a shocked "What?!"

Kokonoe looked at her father, seeing that half his left ear was burnt off and his clothes looked like they had been thrown into an oven. Even so, he stood on his hind legs without giving in, and in this moment Kokonoe found the sight quite inspiring.

"Thanks for holding out on me, can't apologize enough for leaving you alone like that…" Jubei swung his other sword forward, fighting against the impressive and unending force Nine was unleashing.

"But I ain't gonna die here. Doesn't matter if this world is just a 'dream' of the Master Unit…The friends I met, the battles I fought, the woman I fell in love with and the daughter I have…They're as real as real can get for me!"

Jubei's proclamation left both Nine and Kokonoe surprised in differing ways. For Nine, she froze up with hesitation, her magic dying down just a little before she stamped her heel back into Kagutsuchi and exclaimed, "Then you're an idiot!"

"None of this is real! It's all just a 'game' for that entitled brat!" She swung her arms out as the sclera flared up past the sides of her face as the beam's strength returned in full force. Jubei's legs were pushed back and he grit his fangs down. As he held the fort, Kokonoe used her fleet feet to leap over the beam while pulling out a rocket fist onto her right hand.

"Then if it's a game, we'll just have to win it!" She used the rockets on the back of the fist to propel herself straight at her mother. Nine looked up just in time to meet the full force of her daughter's ferocious fist in her face, which blew her right off Kagutsuchi and sent her tumbling across the ground.

The beam finished up, and as he could sense it weakening Jubei sprinted straight towards the demon. Free of Nine's power for a moment, Kagutsuchi made a swift retreat into his realm, but Jubei managed to slice through his left horn beforehand. The demon's roar of pain echoed out through dimensions, and it's horn slammed to the ground like an anvil.

Kokonoe looked back at that and remarked, "Seems Musashi is our best bet of taking that monster down."

"I'm lucky to have even gotten that opportunity…The thing's too fast to catch normally." Jubei admitted while positioning himself in a more natural upright position.

"…Maybe there's something I can do about that." Kokonoe admitted with confidence before turning to face Nine, who was being helped up by Kagutsuchi at this moment. She had a bulging red lump forming on her left cheek, and blood was dripping from that side of the face. Having difficulty standing, Nine swatted Kagutsuchi's hand aside and focused on her family, drawing her up beside her face and setting them on fire.

"Don't think it's over yet! So long as 'The Origin' still breathes, the flames of my vengeance shall never be extinguished!"

As her whole body went up in flames, she warped into the sky and swung her hands out, preparing a very powerful kind of magic that twisted the fabric of reality behind her. Kagutsuchi, meanwhile, charged along the ground like a raging bull towards his enemies. Jubei stood beside Kokonoe and said, "You sure you can do this?"

"Just sit back and shut up old man. Remember, I didn't get my skills from just **one** parent." Kokonoe hunched over and her eyes glowed just a bit, a ring of sharp violet runes forming at her feet as the energy unleashed around her.

"Once that bastard's out, he's never going back in!"

As Kagutsuchi lunges out of the rift and swings it's arms out ready to clamp the two in it's embrace, Kokonoe swung her right hand out and exclaimed in a haste, "I command you in the name of Kokonoe…Unleashing restriction zero…Engaging link with the Boundary. You who protects this gate…Unbind the nine locks that seal what lies beneath. I hereby seek…The power of the Great Magister Nine! Infinite Gravity!"

With the demon's arms only halfway to their mark, both them and the rest of his upper body was ensnared by a downward field of purple-black energy. The demon dropped to the ground and it's body was crunched down as it struggled to try and break free. It could not escape so long as Kokonoe held her concentration on him.

"I can't stop the gravity from affecting you, so you better finish him off in one shot old man!" Kokonoe exclaimed, but with both blades clasped in his palms Jubei's eye glowed bright and he proclaimed, "Don't need to fret about that. Just try not to blink…!"

He dashed through the Infinite Gravity spell in a single stroke of the blade, appearing on the other side of the demon with his blades already half into the sheath. As he was in the midst of locking them into place, a circle carving itself around the demon's body. Once Jubei's blades clicked into the sheath, the circle formed a yin-yang symbol and the demon was diced into a thousand or so tiny cubes.

Kokonoe jerked her hand back and dropped the Infinite Gravity, watching as the cubes melted down to oozing lava. Jubei's legs trembled a little, showing that the gravity did affect him after all. Considering Nine still loomed in the air, that didn't bode well for the two, especially as she opened a massive rift above her body that revealed dozens of meteors behind it.

"You may have bested my familiar…But this is where your resistance comes to an end!" She didn't stop with just the meteors. Using three pink glyphs in front of the rift, Nine intended to amplify the meteors' raw destructive power tenfold.

"Succumb to oblivion…Colorless Void!" She crossed her legs and watched the meteors fall with a bright grin on her face. Kokonoe glared at them with her primal ferocity coming to the focus, her body already in a sweat after using her powerful spell.

"Like hell I will!" She punched her right hand into the open palm of her left and cracked the knuckles, meeting the meteors head-on even as Jubei raised a panicked objection.

"RAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Kokonoe swung her fists out, creating a blinding, furious cyclone of punches that shattered the meteors to pieces. The magic she inherited from her mother put an end to one obstacle, and now the strength inherited from her father would put an end to another. Nine watched on in shock as her power was overcome, and in doing so bit her teeth in a scowl and raised her right hand up.

"There's more where that came from, daughter!" As she was to call more meteors, however, Jubei had managed to sprint up the wall behind him and leap out with blade in his mouth. With a moment's hesitation, he swung his head to the right and sliced through Nine's hand. She jerked her arm down and watched as it bled profusely out. Her magic was dispelled, and she didn't let out a scream.

Instead, she clasped the wrist with her other hand and cauterized the wound shut, even as it left her in a heated sweat, and then warped to the ground in front of the fence overlooking the Cauldron. With a sly grin she looked at her family and began laughing.

"Hahaha…! Clever, veeeery clever you two…You robbed me of a hand and killed my familiar. But in doing so, dear daughter, you made a grave mistake!" Nine backed up until she was touching the fence, then glanced back and saw the Cauldron pulsating with life below.

"After all…To use that magic…You had to activate the Cauldron here, didn't you?" Nine lowered her head and kept her grin revealed. Kokonoe widened her eyes and murmured, "Aw, shit…!"

Nine threw her other hand over the top of the fence and sent a condensed sphere of darkness into the Cauldron. When it collided with the Cauldron, Nine rose up and broke into a raging fit of laughter while a powerful vacuum akin to a black hole spread out across the entire room. Kokonoe, forcing herself through two bursts of strength one after the other, didn't have the strength to brace herself and started to be dragged towards the Cauldron.

"D-Damn it! What do you think you're doing?!" She exclaimed while kneading at the ground with his hands as well. Nine crossed her arms under her chest, staring her daughter dead-on while unaffected by her magic.

"I will drag the two of you into the Boundary, by force if I must! If this is the extent I must go to accomplish my goals, then so be it!"

Jubei had a better time holding on by stabbing both blades into the ground, but even he was slowly being dragged towards the Cauldron. Kokonoe, however, was mere seconds away from being thrown over the fence. Seeing Nine in front of her, she made one last desperate attempt to tackle her mother into the Cauldron too, but the mage just disappeared and reappeared in the same spot to dodge it.

Kokonoe turned around and dug her fingers into the railing of the fence to hold on, and Nine turned around while planting one of her feet up on Kokonoe's knuckles. Digging in tight, Nine cracked the finger bones and caused Kokonoe's grip to loosen one finger at a time.

"You were stronger than I anticipated…Kokonoe. You can die knowing that your mother was proud of your strength." Nine's compliment was topped with a genuine smile, but Kokonoe just threw a wad of bloody spit into her face and kept a grumpy look in her eyes.

Nine blinked as the spit dripped down her face, then pressed her foot in further and said, "A shame you chose the wrong side…"

"Gcckkk…!" A sword pierced through the center of Nine's abdomen, bloodying the peerless blade as she was pushed off the fence by a hard hitting tackle from behind by Jubei. As the two went flying towards the Cauldron, Kokonoe's eyes froze in shock on her father.

He kept the blade grasped in both paws and refused to let go, and with blood dripping from mouth and stomach Nine glanced over her shoulder and remarked in shock, "W-What do you think you're doing?!"

"Putting an end to this battle." Jubei's response was both short and perplexing for his wife.

"You're going into the Boundary! You're going to die!"

"That's how it always should have been, really…Had I thrown Terumi into the Boundary myself, none of this would've ever happened. Least now, you won't be alone…Konoe."

In any other occasion, being called her true name would have upset Nine. Yet from the mouth of the man she loved, such words held no negative connotations, and in fact melted her cold heart. She looked down, the Cauldron just inches away, and then closed her eyes. Jubei did so as well, murmuring to himself, "Sorry Kokonoe…Looks like we won't get to have that talk after all."

"Like hell you're getting off that easily, dad!" Kokonoe voice rang out, and all of a sudden Jubei found his tails being tugged at. With how hard they were tugged, Nine's body slipped out of Musashi and plummeted towards the Cauldron, making Jubei bite his teeth down with regret.

Nine opened her eyes a little and let out a tired sigh as her very being was swallowed up into the Boundary once more, "All I wanted was for everyone's dreams to come true…Where…where did I go wrong?"

And then she was gone, the magic she cast disappearing from sight forever. Now, Kokonoe was left grappling down off the fence with an extending gauntlet while using another gauntlet to keep Jubei from falling into the Cauldron.

"Ghhh…You better hang on, old man!" Kokonoe proclaimed. Trying to keep his spirits up for the moment, Jubei forced a smile and remarked, "Didn't you just call me 'dad' a moment ago?"

"I can still drop you!" Kokonoe exclaimed in a fury, her face turning red as she struggled to pull the two of them back up to safety. Once there, Kokonoe collapsed on her back and was heaving like she had just finished exercising for hours on end.

"G-Goddamn it…Never, EVER again…" Kokonoe was back to being her angry self, but Jubei knew better. While keeping himself supported with Musashi, he looked at her and said, "…I'm sorry about your mother."

"St-Stupid bastard…! You should be apologizing for that shit you tried to pull just now!" Kokonoe forced herself to sit up just so she could lash her pointer finger at her father, "Where do you get off sacrificing yourself like that?!"

"…You didn't deserve to perish for my mistakes, Kokonoe." Jubei stated, plain and simple as that, and after a couple blinks Kokonoe fell back down and let out a frazzled groan.

"Screw it…I don't have the strength to move let alone chew you out…"

"Heh, I'm barely holding up myself…"

"…Then lets just take a catnip. Tager'll drop the barrier soon enough, and it's not like we're in any danger here…"

"Yeah, I think I'd like that…" Jubei put Musashi down and then crawled over to Kokonoe, stretching his hind back before he nestled down with tails laid near his hind paws. Kokonoe gave him a brief glance and saw him snoring, then closed her eyes and went into a deep sleep herself…

 _Next Time: The Fall of the Moon_


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Relius Clover II: The Curtain Falls**

 _Back in Akitsu-Ko…_

Before Valkenhayn and Relius could continue their fierce battle, the same event that affected the rest of the world came down upon them. The butler was forced to bend down, struggling to keep himself steady, while even Relius and Ignis could be seen succumbing to this unfathomable pressure.

"Urrrrk…! What is going on here?" Relius commented, looking ahead to see that Ignis was short-circuiting a little. He then dragged his right arm up and spread the fingers across his face, trying to Observe whatever it was that was occurring. However, there was a sharp and sudden recoil of information when he saw things through Ignis' eyes, and his head jerked back while he let out a deep grunt of pain.

Once the event was over, Relius was still slumped over on the ground as Valkenhayn pushed himself back up and Ignis returned to normal. The puppeteer shook his head and hid a smile behind his palm. Valkenhayn hung over a little, his head throttled by a brief stint of dizziness, and murmured, "What on EARTH was that?"

"Hmmm…Fascinating, simply FASCINATING," With a dignified poise Relius rose up and crossed an arm in front of his chest while looking towards his foe, "Humor me for a moment, Valkenhayn."

The butler kept his guard up before the man gave out a rather simple but very curious question, "Does the Overlord's successor have any domain over the flow of casualty in our world?"

"I have not a clue as to what you're possibly referring to." Valkenhayn responded with a firm and stoic expression, but all that did was cause a tiny smile to form across Relius' face as he gestured his hand out in an aloof manner.

"I am not the least bit fooled. After all the time you've spent with that Alucard child, surely your perception of such phenomenon is nowhere near dull."

"…Why are you even asking, Relius?" Valkenhayn couldn't deny that he was a tiny bit curious about what was going on, and that Relius had a better grasp of events than he did.

"What we experienced just now was a worldwide phenomenon intervention from the Master Unit herself. From what I've come to realize from my time in the Boundary and this world, the Master Unit only performs such an event when the person she centralizes her focus on dies…" Relius brushed his hand out again and remarked with great nonchalance, "I am, of course, referring to Ragna the Bloodedge."

Valkenhayn's stoicism shattered with his pupils shrinking and the rest of his eyes widening until they were bloodshot. With a disbelieving glare towards Relius, the werewolf snarled out, "Do you honestly expect me to believe that _rubbish_ , Relius Clover?!"

"Not at all. In fact, even I have difficulty believing that he is dead, especially seeing how the world has not been reset after the Master Unit's attempted intervention," Relius then lowered his head and laid his fingertips across the forehead, "Of course, this just gives me even more reason to suspect that the successor is responsible for this strange occurrence…"

Valkenhayn kept his lips sealed better than the most secure of safes, leaving Relius to ruminate this information all by himself. He smiled a little wider and then lowered his hand, glancing away from his foe for a moment, "Regardless, these events have been very enlightening to say the least. I shall thank the boy for that much, at the least."

"To think, that there are many worlds with sentient life out there far beyond our reach. Mankind has sought to extend their reach to the stars since the dawn of time, yet by mere coincidence, the stars reached out to us first…" Relius paced back towards the left of Ignis, his gaze not going the least bit towards Valkenhayn, "All these worlds…And not a single idea of how they may or may not function."

"What if there are actual humans on these worlds, none of whom are chained to the 'dream' of an almighty deity? Perhaps stagnation is but a distant memory to these worlds, or their cycle of evolution is so ever-changing that it's impossible to keep up with it…" Relius stopped beside Ignis and turned around, "I simply cannot let this opportunity pass me by. One way or another, I shall find a way to seek out this other worlds."

"Hmph, the higher your ambitions soar, Relius Clover, the harder the fall shall be." Valkenhayn noted without mercy.

"Do you deem such notions impossible? The Overlord's mere existence proves that there are methods out there to traverse the depths of space unopposed. Perhaps it'd be worth my time to try and dissect the child's powers…"

"Don't get cocky, Relius Clover!" Valkenhayn swung his right leg up and kicked a pocket of air straight towards Relius, causing his cape to flutter around and make the man grin.

"Far from it…I know you still stand in my path, Silver Wolf Valkenhayn." Relius turned around and snapped his fingers, spurring Ignis to life. The puppet's eyes glimmered and she dashed along the snow, spreading it around her body like a couple curved wings.

She lunged her right hand out and spun the claws around like a drill. Valkenhayn ducked under it and dashed forward, turning his right hand into a claw and grabbing onto the front of the puppet to slam her to the ground. He then immediately changed into his wolf form and sprinted at Relius with a howl.

The man turned around as Valkenhayn leapt with fangs gnashed out ready to chomp at his face. With a flick of the wrist out, Relius summoned a blue mechanical limb and threw a hard punch into Valkenhayn's gut. Slobber shot forth from his maw, and Relius shifted his head a little to the left to avoid it while opening the limb's hand and grabbing around the werewolf's body. With a hard tug down, Relius slammed Valkenhayn against the ground.

Then, after retracting his limb, Relius pulled back on his body and summoned a golden gear as big as he was. Whne Valkenhayn was knocked up into the air from the rebound of the impact, he was then ensnared by the teeth of the gear as it spun around and dug into his skin. Even with how durable the werewolf was, his skin was roughened up to the point that it began to bleed.

When pain thrust itself through his body like a sharpened dagger, Valkenhayn snarled out a fearsome howl and changed back to normal save for his legs, one of which he used to kick the gear to bounce back while also sending the gear into the ground. Snow flew forth in a flurry at Relius, who waved part of his cape so he wouldn't be covered by it.

But because of that, Valkenhayn was able to punt the gear out of the ground without being interrupted. Relius lowered his cape and saw the gear flying his way, just having a second to summon a large limb to grab the front of it. His body was dragged back through the snow and Relius slowly raised the gear as Valkenhayn charged after him, slamming it down in hopes of getting the werewolf before he could strike.

With a weave to the right, Valkenhayn avoided the gear and kept on moving forward with left claw hung back behind his head and a piercing gaze focused on Relius' neck. The man grit his teeth and snapped his fingers, and after a brief and flashy glint Ignis warped to Relius' aid and took the brunt of the claws' might. Valkenhayn had managed to pierce just a centimeter into the puppet's frame, and Ignis responded by curving her lithe right arm down and stabbing the tips of her claws into Valkenhayn's hand as he pulled out.

The werewolf leapt back, the top of his hand now bleeding profusely, but after shaking it off he glared into the puppet's eyes and anticipated her next move. Ignis moved forward with a feather-like weight, spinning around with claws limp at her hips until her body was a pink tornado advancing towards it's target.

Valkenhayn couldn't perceive the position of the claws amidst the swirling pink and white, and thus had only a second to react when Ignis stabbed them forth from within the expanse. The puppet went for the head first with one claw, and Valkenhayn shifted his whole body to the left to dodge it. He then hopped back and lashed his right claw out to repel a second strike, followed by his left claw to repel the next.

The pain in that claw increased to the point that the butler's head began to throb, but he fought on with undying vigor. After another claw brushed past the top of his right shoulder, he made an advance towards the spinning puppet, leaning his head forward in an attempt to look vulnerable. The puppet lunged a claw out on the spot, but Valkenhayn was ready for it. He budged his head to the left and snatched the wrist out of the air.

Ignis stopped twirling and was tugged in closer to the butler, who let go of the wrist and swung his left leg up in a curve to kick her in the chest. The puppet flinched just a bit but swung it's left arm down, the sharp backs of the claws cutting into the tendons on Valkenhayn's leg. He grimaced and jerked his leg back, sliding it along the ground until it was directly behind him.

His leg was forced to bend from the pain, but he sprung forward with his shoulder and rammed into Ignis' chest with all his might. The doll hunched over and Valkenhayn turned both his hands into claws and swung them into the point he penetrated a couple times over. He couldn't deepen the wounds, but kept the puppet from fighting back with every fierce blow he dealt.

After that, he leapt back and stabbed his claws into the abdomen twice, each blow unleashing a blood red bolt of energy from the puppet's back. When he hadn't managed to penetrate the doll's body, he had considered pulling out the gauntlet Alex had given him and attacking, but recognized quickly that it wasn't the right time to do so as Ignis lurched forward and plunged her claws at his chest.

He leapt back and the puppet's claws went into the ground, leaving her body hung over like a pedestal. Relius jumped right over her with the gear from earlier latched onto one of his puppet-like limbs, and he brought it down at the werewolf's head with a mighty swing. Valkenhayn turned around and thrust his right leg up into the gear, kicking it out of his grasp and sending it flying skyward.

But the impact pinched the nerves in his knee between the bones, and he grimaced in pain long enough for Relius to further the damage by using that same puppet-like limb to punch square in the center of Valkenhayn's extended foot. The pain ricocheted through the butler's body like a pool ball being launched across the table, leaving him to let out a gruesome howl as his leg dropped to the ground with the force of an anvil.

He stumbled back a couple steps and began panting, looking ahead to see that the relatively unharmed Relius was strolling towards him, taking this matter with the utmost lack of care he could possibly muster. In the face of such unmitigated pride, Valkenhayn snarled his fangs at the man and then transformed into a wolf once more.

He then vaulted straight into the air, leaving a plume of snow in his wake. Relius brushed the snow aside with a wave of the cape and then looked up, a slight grin crossing his cheeks as Valkenhayn was bathed in a pale light coming from the aurora above. With a snap of the fingers, Relius commanded Ignis to rise and she pointed her claws at the air, and from the tips extended thin and sharp steel wires that spread out almost like a web.

Valkenhayn dove down, the air pressing around his body in the shape of a bullet, and he swerved left and right to move around the wires as best he could. A couple of them grazed the sides of his body but nothing more, giving Relius a little cause for concern as it looked as though the werewolf would bury him in a grave of snow.

The puppeteer took a couple cautious steps back and glided his hands closer to his chest, making Ignis' own hands cross on top of each other so the wires weaved together into a bunch of "Xs". Valkenhayn, trapped within that perilous ensnarement, turned back into a human and had just the perfect width and length to slip through the gaps and dive down at Relius.

The man hopped back as the butler smashed his foot into the ground with enough force to create a towering plume of snow that obscured both their visions. But Valkenhayn's nose, having sharpened smell through his heritage, allowed him to discern his foe through the foggy white that permeated the skies and lunge forward for attack.

Relius saw the shadows of his foe as but a mere blur, and wasn't able to mount even the slightest hint of defense beyond a slight attempt to lean back. Valkenhayn took his right claw down in a curve and sliced through the chain binding Relius' cape around his neck while digging three scars into his chest.

The strength of the blow parted the fog with droplets of blood dispersing on the ground in front of the puppeteer, whose cape hovered down until it was laid out in wrinkled shambles behind him. He hunched over and was left with his arms limp at his sides. Valkenhayn lowered his claw and caught his breath, the chill doing little to help the state of his mind and body.

Relius watched as his blood dripped onto the snow like dew falling off the leaves in the aftermath of a violent storm. He let out a couple dry chuckles and then laid a hand on his face, shaking his head and lifting his body up until he was perfectly upright.

"My own blood…How long has it been since I've had to bear witness to such an ugly sight?"

"You will be seeing far more of it soon enough, Relius Clover!" Valkenhayn proclaimed, the nipping cold unable to lessen neither his bark nor bite. Relius looked up at his opponent, seeing how bloodied and battered he was despite his stance not folding in the slightest.

"Perhaps I have underestimated you. It seems neither age nor the scars of battle are capable of making you fall, Valkenhayn." Relius remarked what amounted to little more than faint praise, as he still carried an aura of egotism in his mannerisms and voice.

"Even Death herself could not dull my claws. No matter your tricks, no matter the strength, I shall not give in!" Valkenhayn leapt to battle once more, and with a more annoyed scowl Relius slammed his palms into the ground and used magic to summon forth a field of grappling puppet hands in the werewolf's path.

He tried to pull back, but two of the hands stretched out and latched around the kneecaps. With a tug, Valkenhayn was dragged to the ground head-first, which opened a wound in the back that bloodied the snow in a streak as he was pulled towards the rest of the clacking hands. To make a swift escape, he turned into a wolf and slipped his more lithe leg out of the grasp and backflipped away.

But Relius rose up and closed his arms in closer to his chest, commanding Ignis to grab the wolf out of the air and lock him tight in a hug. Ignis squeezed tight and didn't let go even as Valkenhayn's rib started to crack. The wolf spat up blood from his beastly snout and then turned back into a human, the blood continuing to drip down his chin as he jabbed his elbows back into Ignis' chest to break free.

He landed on the ground and lumbered forward for a bit before standing up and dashing into a fervent charge at Relius. The man snapped his fingers and summoned Ignis to him in an instance, but Valkenhayn rammed his shoulder into the puppet and knocked it over before bouncing off the ground and transforming into a wolf.

He dove down at the puppeteer, who leapt back to try and avoid the attack, but once Valkenhayn landed he lunged forward and tackled the front of Relius' right leg. The snap of the puppeteer's bones was followed by Valkenhayn biting onto his lower leg with the steel vice of his maw. Relius grimaced as his blood sprayed across the ground, but summoned a couple of puppet fists to punch into the wolf's face.

Valkenhayn backed off and swung his head at the ground to shake the blood off then turned back into a man. With Relius' mobility weakened, Valkenhayn was certain he'd be able to deal the killing blow now and charged forth. Ignis, however, stabbed her claws into his back and vaulted him over her head in an instant.

As he was slammed against the ground, Valkenhayn could hear his own spine cracking in the center, the pain multiplying tenfold as Ignis ripped her claws free from the incensed nerves. Ignis stabbed the claws down twice more, but Valkenhayn rolled to the left and then transformed into a wolf. His legs nearly collapsed under his own weight, but when Ignis was about to attack him again he sped forward past the width of her dress and went after Relius.

The puppeteer dragged his bitten lag back while using the other normally, but that was in no way going to get him away from the werewolf. He snapped his fingers to call Ignis to his aid, and this time was prepared with a black sphere surrounded by a pair of golden runic rings. Ignis held the sphere at the palm and drove it into Valkenhayn's body.

The sphere grew to fit around his entire form and became suspended in mid-air, and after a little while the sphere burst apart and launched Valkenhayn skyward with his fur roughened to the point that his form was mangy and unrecognizable from the proud lycanthrope he was before. He landed on all fours but collapsed a moment later, pushing himself up through sheer force of will.

He turned back into a human and his body wobbled around, his vision blurring to the point that the blood red snow blurred into a pinkish haze. His breaths were filled with the thick taste of blood, and his body was heavier than either his foes combined. He looked straight ahead and forced himself upright, but when he was able to focus on Relius he saw the man planting his hands into the ground.

Before he could budge an inch away, Valkenhayn's energy was awakened by a sharp, biting pain around both his ankles. He was clamped in place by a pair of metallic, decorated bear traps that dug into his flesh greater than the fangs of a great white shark. While the traps chomped away at his legs, Ignis approached and cleaved into his chest with hard diagonal swings of her claws. Blood and flesh scattered across the snow until Valkenhayn's condition looked no better than a slab of shredded meat.

With all the bleeding and weariness, the fact that the werewolf didn't collapse was a feat that left an impression on even the likes of Relius. The man took a couple steps forward and halted Ignis' attacks for a moment to comment on his foe's endurance.

"You have been a fascinating subject for as long as I have known you, Valkenhayn. Perhaps I was wrong to assume that your 'soul' was as stagnate as I first perceived it to be…But then again, I supposed those who exist outside the realm of 'logic' do not need to heed to such preconceived notions."

Relius brushed his right hand out and said, "But being 'unique' does not make you 'strong'."

"Y-You just don't get it, and sadly…You never will," Valkenhayn responded with a degree of pity for his enemy, "Not anymore, anyways. You threw away love and kindness all for the sake of ambition…Even if I were to fall, and you found what you were looking for…You'd never be happy."

"…That is not for you to decide." Relius raised his right hand high above his head, prepared to give his final command. Valkenhayn closed his eyes for a moment and then looked to the left, his vision in such disarray that he swore he could see the shadows of his master looming on one of the nearby rooftops.

His heart beat as fast as the flutter of butterfly wings, and a sensation began to well up across his entire body. Time seemed to slow for him as adrenaline pumped through his veins faster than his body could feasibly be able to handle. Remembering what he was fighting for, Valkenhayn reached into his shredded outfit and pulled out the adamantium gauntlet Alex had given him. Relius swung his hand down and Ignis plunged her right claw towards his chest.

He put the gauntlet on and his eyes flared with a moonlight glow. The weight of the gauntlet threatened to snap his arm in two, but he swung his claw up to intercept the puppet's own as if it was as light as a feather. When the blows collided there was no shadow of a doubt as to who was stronger. Ignis' limb broke apart like a fragile vase all the way to the elbow, and Relius' body went stiff in shock.

"What is the meaning of this?" He murmured. Valkenhayn wasted no time in thrusting another attack straight into Ignis' chest, puncturing through it with such force that the cracks spread out across the entire body and broke the puppet to pieces. Relius grimaced, his mouth agape as not a single word could escape it. His work was broken, scattered in disarray, through a manner he could not comprehend even with all his mind working to try and solve it.

Valkenhayn, fueled by an indomitable, primal fury, pulled his legs forward and tore through the sharp teeth of the traps even as it ripped his lower leg muscles to shreds. Pulling back on the gauntlet until it was over his shoulder, Valkenhayn howled loud enough to reach the very moon out in space and stabbed forward, Relius looking down just in time to watch as the claw plunged deep into his jugular.

"H-How…?" Relius stammered with a raspy breath. The cold atmosphere finally took hold on his body, joining with a chill of death to create a complete and unfamiliar sensation to the man. Valkenhayn arched his brows up and tugged his claw out, splattering the blood he drew across the ground while Relius' body began to fall back.

The man continued to stare forward, his vision blurring as his life left the grasp of his body bit-by-bit. When he collapsed upon the soft blanket of snow, his mask fell off, revealing a pair of foggy green eyes that had a couple of noticeable scars along the lens. He didn't move, and could barely breath.

Even as he laid there, dying, Relius' thoughts did not linger over the confusion of how he died. Instead, perplexing him to an even greater degree, he recalled a time not too long ago, where he sat in the comfort of a home with a book in hand and his body seated near a cozy fireplace. As he sat there, his youngest child, a boy by the name of Carl, had approached them with a finely crafted puppet that he gave to his father as a gift.

" _Dad, look! I made this just for you!"_

" _You made this all by yourself? Let me see…Yes, yes. The joints are a little stiff, the framework could use a little more polish…But you put your heart and soul into this work. Thank you, Carl, I love it."_

Relius blinked once and accepted a lonesome silence for a moment more. Forcing a dry smirk onto his face, he cursed to himself, "Sentimentality…? Why now…of all times…would I care about that…?"

His eyelids began to shut, and his lips sank into a frown.

"Hmph…a flawed soul…no different…from the rest…" Relius' lament was only his own to say and hear, as they were his last words in this mortal world. Alone, he perished amongst this snow covered land.

Valkenhayn looked over him, standing tall and victorious. He had no eulogy to offer to the man who was once his friend, nor the strength to bow. All he knew for certain, was that now he could return to his master's side once more. The man stood up straight and stared forward, his body snared by a limp tremble. He cracked a smirk, and then the gauntlet dropped from his hand to the ground. A second later, his body fell backwards onto the snow, laid out in a delicate and relaxed manner.

He closed his eyes and slowly peered them open, turning his head to the left as the subtle sound of footsteps approached him. He looked into the crimson eyes of what was undoubtedly his master and smiled, telling her as his eyelids began to close, "Shall I prepare tea for you in the morning…Milady?"

His head slumped to the left and his chest became motionless. The vampire, looking down upon such a sad but dignified sight, caressed her rosy right cheek with one hand and closed her eyes.

"…I shall most certainly look forward to it, Valkenhayn R. Hellsing." With that solemn whisper, Rachel bent down, exposing herself to the blood that she so utterly despised as she reached towards the ribbon that tied Valkenhayn's hair in that ponytail.

Laying it atop her palms, the vampire closed her eyes and reminisced of the day she had given it to him as proof of his loyalty to the Alucard family. A single tear slipped between her eyelids and fell upon the ribbon, and then she laid it down to rest upon his heart.

"…Yet again, a life I cared so dearly for has been lost." Rachel stood up and faced the northern skies with a turn of the head. The wind picked up in her presence as her eyes pierced the sky with a melancholy air around her.

"And yet even still, I fear as though this is only the beginning…"

 _Next Time: The Champion of Life_


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Izanami III: Death of the Dreamer**

 _Back in Ibukido…_

Having made her proclamation, Shina managed to grab the attention of the normally obstinate Death Goddess, who looked away from Hakumen with a curious tilt of the head. Hakumen stayed his hands for the moment, suspecting that something was up with what the girl was planning.

"Your words are bold but foolish, child. You dare wish to face me alone? And for what reason should I, who stand above all, deign to honor your request?"

Shina grabbed her sword in both hands and held it before her waist towards Izanami, gulping a nervous wad of saliva before she stated, "You don't have a choice in the matter."

"Heheh…" Izanami indulged in a short and quiet chuckle before widening her eyes as far as they could go and declaring, "You have no power over me, child!"

"Don't be so sure about that…" Shina responded as her aura radiated like a veil of steam around her body, "Didn't you hear me? By invoking the Rite of Singularity, I've tied our auras together through an invisible chain. So long as that chain exists, we can only harm each other, and no one else can harm us."

Izanami creaked her head down and stared at her chest. Though she could not see the chain, obviously, there was a dull sensation around that region of her body that wasn't there before, and thus when she lifted her head up and spoke her words were those of belief and mockery, "So you have…I'll admit, I am just the tiniest bit impressed. But for what purpose does such a power serve you?"

"…Hakumen," Shina shifted her head to glance at him, and the man stood upright and returned her attention with a patient stare, "No matter what happens to me, you and Trinity can't attack Izanami. If you do, the power of the Rite will deplete your aura and kill you.'

"Hmm, and the same would apply to me if I were to attack them, yes?" Izanami pondered, putting on a devilish smirk as Shina responded with a nod.

"How pointless…No, it is laughable at best." She then closed her eyes and crossed her arms, pointing her body towards the girl with the smirk spreading out into a grin.

"Your actions amount to little more than tossing a single sheep into a herd of ravenous wolves, praying that'll be enough to satiate their appetite." She then opened her eyes and tilted her head to the right, coming across as just the tiniest bit bored.

"Do you hope to buy time for your comrades to come up with a plan to defeat me? Or are you foolish enough to believe that you alone can topple an insurmountable wall?"

Shina gave a nice hard nod of the head and stated, "I can…No, I WILL defeat you by myself!"

"So it's the latter," Izanami began to chuckle as she threw a cold, nasty glare straight into the depths of Shina's soul, "There is no action more pointless in this world than that of sacrifice, especially for a world as false and sinful as this one."

"It doesn't matter if this world is a 'dream' of the Master Unit. The people in it are **real** , and they deserve a chance to live their lives out!" Shina proclaimed with all her heart.

"You would hold that stance, even knowing the depravities of which man is capable of? This world existing as it is now should be more than enough proof that mankind does not deserve to be saved!" Izanami raised her voice with an authoritative echo, invoking her title as a Goddess to the fullest extent allowed.

Shina clasped the handle of her blade tight and looked down with a somewhat distraught expression, "…Back home, when I read about the history of the Earth, it was always sad to hear how many times humans would fight each other. If I just took humanity at face-value like that, then yeah, maybe they would be better off dead…"

She then looked up, her eyes glowing with a pronounced optimism, "But humans aren't simple. Some are good, some are bad, but all of them are able to learn and grow from their mistakes. So it doesn't matter if you're young or old, rich or homeless, man or woman…So long as you aren't threatening the peace of your world, then you will ALWAYS have worth!"

"Nothing more than droll idealism. I have lived long enough to hear these words time and time again…But that's all they are. No mere words can change the nature of man…You waste your faith on putrid, stagnant husks, child."

"It's not a waste to me, and that's all the reason I need to fight you!" Shina exclaimed with unwavering resolve as her aura turned into a veil similar to that of a raging fire, bring illumination across this span of the ruined city.

"I'm not just carrying the hopes of this world's people in my hands. This blade…is infused with the hopes of all the worlds I've been to on this journey! It doesn't matter how far away they are, they'll all give me the strength to fight…"

Closing her eyes for just a moment, Shina could imagine the hands of all the people she's become friends with reaching out and touch the length of her blade. For a second though, Shina's heart shook and her body went numb, as the phantom hands of her little sister wrapped themselves around the handle of her blade. She then glared straight at Izanami, pouring all the aura around her body into the sword she wielded until it was almost too bright for even her to look at.

"And that strength…Will slay even the Gods!"

"…Hehehe…" Izanami reeled her head back after an almost courteous pause and burst into rancorous laughter that lasted a total of seven seconds. When she was done, she swung her head forward and took great glee in staring at her with an unhinged glare.

"So you perceive yourself to be the champion of light? Very well, mortal child…" Izanami disappeared and reappeared before Shina in the blink of an eye, the ground torn up in her wake as she swung her right hand back and left her expression completely engrossed in ecstasy.

"Then I shall _enjoy_ snuffing you out!"

She thrust her hand out and slammed it into Shina's blade as she twisted the broad side forward. Digging her heels into the ground, Shina stopped herself from going any further than three feet and then fought against the air resistance to cleave her sword forward, launching a sparkling wave of aura across the ground.

Izanami threw her hands up and grabbed the front of the aura to break it, but as she did so Shina sped forth with her blade transformed into ethereal aura and stabbed through the side of the Goddess' aura. The aura was left in a split for but a brief second before it was patched up and it's wielder turned aside to strike back at Shina with a vicious, cleaving strike using her right arm.

Shina kicked her left leg up and spun around, leaping away as Izanami's fist smashed apart the ground and landing ten feet away from her. The Goddess rose up and lunged forth before the debris was gripped by gravity's pull, slamming her entire body into Shina and dragging her through a dozen or so feet of ground until the two reached the lake's surface.

Shina padded the bottom of her boots with aura to avoid submersion and threw her sword skyward, freeing her of enough weight to allow her to swing her right leg up in a curve towards Izanami's face. The Goddess responded by holding her right arm up to block it, aura spurting off in a flowery shockwave as it made contact.

Stuck in that position, Shina pressed harder and harder with her lower leg muscles to try and make Izanami yield. The Goddess did so by backing off, but only so she could point her Magatamas forward and fire a triangular arrangement of lasers. Shina splashed her foot down onto the water's surface and flipped over the condensed attack, grabbing hold of her falling blade and dropping right back to the water while delivering a thick slice to Izanami's body.

The water split in twine behind the Goddess, who budged no more than an inch. But without pause, Shina shifted the position of her arms horizontally and sliced the Goddess twice, the first attack pushing her back while the second one was performed with the ethereal blade.

Izanami took all attacks without resistance, cracking a grin while the water settled back into place behind her. She then raised her hands up and summoned forth the hellish black flames of the damned, clapping them together to released a short forward burst point-blank into Shina's chest. The plates of her armor melted a little as she was pushed back, but though the heat bothered her Shina got up and blew the lingering embers off with a lightning fast sprint towards her foe.

Izanami widened her eyes and froze time as Shina was an inch away from her body, then grabbed her by the shoulders and swung her overhead, slamming her back first against the water the very moment time resumed. Shina's back was inflicted with a pain that spread out until it reached her neck and rear, paralyzing her for a moment as she was plunged underwater.

Izanami didn't leave things at that and pushed her Magatama away from her body with a lofty gesture of her right arm out, suspending the ring directly above the water's surface and charging up enough energy to annihilate the tallest buildings. In the deep dark underwater, Shina could still see the lights of Izanami's attack growing to it's definitive threshold.

Widening her eyes and groaning through her held breath, Shina spun around and surrounded herself in a bubble of aura, expelling the excess water so she could rocket out of the way of the oncoming attack. The lasers firing into the water sent a towering plume forth into the sky, stray droplets splashing themselves against Izanami's sleek frame. She lowered the tips of her toes to the water's surface and then glanced back, smiling as Shina burst forth from the lake and dove straight at her.

Izanami turned around and recalled the Magatama to defend her, but Shina managed to slip her blade between them and stab the Goddess' chest dead on. A ring of light ruptured out from the tip as Izanami was sent hurtling back to the original battlefield, her legs smashing into the edge of the lake and tearing two thin chasms into the ground.

The Goddess leapt back, avoiding another cleave from Shina, and raised her right hand to the sky. Pooling the souls of the damned into a sphere as big as her body, Izanami threw it down and then worked on creating another right away. Shina made a hop back, delivering a swift and bright slice outward to cut the sphere to pieces.

She then made a couple more hops as Izanami sent bigger spheres her way, spinning her body around to build-up a stronger slash each time. At the edge of the lake, Shina bent down and stared down a sphere that was twice as big as herself without fear, then launched herself forward like a bolt of lightning and pierced through the darkness that threatened to consume her. In a second she switched her blade to ethereal form and pierced through Izanami's aura.

The Goddess managed to stop time only after the attack had been dealt, but after leaving the world in that state of being she paused for a moment and shook. Brushing it off as little more than excitement, Izanami turned around thrust her right hand out. The Magatama separated and flew forth, stabbing deep into Shina's right shoulder, the left of her waist, and the back of her lower left leg.

Izanami resumed time and Shina stopped moving instantly, and she bit her teeth down and flared her nostrils open as the pain roared through her body without a seeming end. The Goddess snapped her fingers and the Magatama dragged Shina in closer, followed by kicking her right leg up until both her legs were perfectly aligned and the girl was sent further into the sky.

After recalling her Magatama, Izanami stopped time to get behind Shina while throwing all her weight into a diving kick, launching her dozens of feet across the air. The souls of the departed released a howling cry that echoed across the land as the attack connected, and would continue to do so with each attack the Goddess performed. She froze time to get behind Shina again, this time her body coiled up so she could spring her arms out and smash her fist into the girl's backside to launch her downward.

Halfway to the ground, Izanami then went in front of Shina and thrust her left leg out to kick her back, the tip of her foot cutting across the girl's abdomen and drawing blood. After getting behind her again, Izanami performed a fast but hard-hitting uppercut into Shina's chin, waiting for the crack of bones before letting her go flying.

With one final warp, Izanami dove down and crossed her wrists to throttle Shina around the neck and drag her down as though she was a comet from space. The girl squinted her eyes open and stared into the face of madness Izanami projected. Though it was hard to breathe and think, Shina concentrated on her aura and packed it in inside of her body. Once there was enough, it was set off like a bomb around her being, striking Izanami hard enough to get her to let go.

Though Shina was still being sent towards the ruins floating on the lake, she was able to regain full consciousness after a couple coarse coughs and kick her feet back, using them to cushion the impact through a few crumbled stone walls and then landing on top of a criss-crossed pair of giant red girders.

The walls broke apart and made a slow descent into the lakes, obscuring Shina's vision towards her foe. She kept her blade held back in both hands and compressed some aura around it, shifting her eyes around left and right until all the chunks of stone had fallen. When the sky was clear and Izanami was nowhere to be found, the girl's heart started to beat hard enough for her to hear it.

Then, a cold and prickled touch crept along the top of her left shoulder, slipping itself just underneath the plate that was supposed to protect it. As a couple more of those sensations followed, Shina's eyes locked forward and began to tremble, with Izanami leaning her head in from behind and whispering right into her eardrum, "I will destroy… **everything** you hold dear."

Shina arched her brows and turned around, cleaving her blade upward with all her might as Izanami simply had to jerk back and clasp the sharpened edge between five fingertips no thicker than pencils. The energy Shina had built up was unleashed as a wave of immeasurable size that erased all the debris in it's path, and also blew away a part of Izanami's aura.

Izanami twisted her head back and stared into Shina's determined expression as she was trying to pull the blade free. The Goddess then squeezed her fingers as tight as a snake suffocating it's prey and grinned, "There is no strength to be found in your so-called 'hope'. It is as fragile as the Master Unit's 'dream', and shall be broken all the same."

"You're wrong, Izanami. Hope isn't something you can kill. It'll always be there for people to hold onto, even in their darkest hours!"

"The Master Unit is proof enough of how intoxicating and blinding 'hope' is to those weak of heart. For the sake of holding onto such a meager concept, the Master Unit has brought this world to ruin time and time again."

"It may be true that she's been a little selfish, but it just shows the strength of her heart even after all this turmoil she's endured! If she's as weak as you claim, then she'd have no hope at all!"

"Your sympathy for that entitled child is deplorable." Izanami punctuated her distaste with a rough scoff, but Shina just looked at her with a glance of slight pity.

"You're a part of the Master Unit…Shouldn't you understand her pain better than anyone?"

Izanami's eyes narrowed, her lips spread across her face until she bore all her fangs to the girl, " **I** …am my own person. I refuse to dignify any connection to that pathetic whelp with anything more than the utmost disdain."

"Then, do you even have any 'hopes' or 'dreams' of your own?"

"Only to see this world be turned to ruins, and all that the Master Unit has created be swept away into nothingness!" As Izanami proclaimed that, she twisted the hand that gripped the blade to try and break it like she did Ookami. When not even a crack formed in the blade, the Goddess raised her brows and tilted her head aside.

Shina shook her head and let out a sigh, then closed her eyes and said, "I told you Izanami. Hope…"

She changed her blade into it's ethereal form and delivered a clean slice diagonally through the Goddess' aura. The wind was kicked up in a gentle gale, spreading Izanami's hair around for a good few seconds. With Shina's aura flaring up around her body, she stared her foe down and exclaimed, "…Cannot be killed!"

Then she took her blade and tried to attack again, only for Izanami to zip back away from the girder and throw her ringed combination of Magatamas together like a disc to slice through the support underneath Shina's feet. The girl leapt off and took flight, charging at Izanami and changing her blade back to normal to strike with valiant resolve.

She stabbed her blade forth twice, the tip colliding with the ghastly rib cage Izanami summoned as a shield. Shina then pulled back as though readying a pool stick and stabbed the blade forward after returning it to an ethereal state. The blade phased through the ribs and allowed her to penetrate the Goddess' aura, which spread out in a hollow plume from her back.

Izanami released the ghastly bones in a screaming burst that blew Shina back a couple feet and moved her arms away from the center of her body. As Shina tried to get her sword front and center, Izanami flew forward and stabbed her right fingernails into the bottom of her wrist. With the sharp puncture of needles digging into her nerves, Shina ended up dropping her blade towards a lone pillar of mossy stone.

Gritting her teeth and applying a layer of aura to the wound with a mere brush of the fingers, Shina clenched the bleeding hand into a fist hard enough to crack the knuckles and glanced past her left shoulder at the Goddess. Izanami parted her Magatama and was prepared to stab them into Shina's body when suddenly, a fist smashed into the front of her face with the force and speed of a shotgun blast.

Shina curled her lips into a small "o" and took in a deep breath, digging her spiked gauntlet protected knuckles into Izanami's face to grind out just a little bit more of her aura. Then, Shina broke out a flurry of punches to strike all across Izanami's body, the blood rushing through her body like a hot, raging river.

"ATATATATATATATATA!" Shina cried out as she refused to relent upon Izanami, who couldn't move from how fast the attacks were coming out. After five seconds, Shina threw a right hook across the left of her foe's face to spin her around. Izanami's cheek was left with an imprint for a moment, but she smirked and was ready to counterattack when all of a sudden Shina hooked her arms underneath Izanami's armpits and held on tight.

Arching her body back until she was upside-down, Shina dragged Izanami with her as she dove for the pillar her sword was planted in. Izanami glanced past the right side of her face for a moment and then widened her eyes to stop time. Yet, her body was stuck in place, unable to break free of Shina's iron-clad hold.

Summoning her Magatama for help, she resumed the flow of time and had the probes fire upon Shina. The attacks sliced off parts of her armor and burnt whatever skin was past it, but Shina didn't stop. Then, the tips of the Magatama stab into Shina's arms, ending up deep enough in to cause blood to gush out.

Shina, at that point, let go and threw Izanami into the pillar, smashing it apart and causing her sword to fly back up. She plucked it out of the sky one hand at a time and then pooled some aura into it, swinging down twice in rapid succession to send a giant cross of bright aura into the Goddess' body.

The attack spread out the surface of the water in the form of multiple large ripples, seeming as though it was pressing Izanami further and further into the murky depths. However, the Goddess appeared behind Shina with arms drawn up and her aura briefly seen split with an "X", having used time stop to escape.

The girl spun her head back and then the rest of her body, creating half a bubble of aura to protect herself from the Goddess jabbing all her fingers diagonally towards her chest. Once the fingertips connected, Izanami immediately froze time and went around Shina's defenses, slicing her Magatamas upward while they were shifted sideways in order to tear through the back of the girl's armor and scar the skin underneath.

The sharp pain through the nerves made her bite her teeth down as tears formed in the bottom of her eyes. She brushed them away with a blink of the eyes, however, and turned around to strike Izanami with a slice from her solid blade. The Goddess was blown through large chunks of debris and landed on the lake's surface, bouncing along like a flat stone until she ended up back on solid ground and began to tumble.

She dug her feet and then hunched forward to dig her fingernails into the rigid stone, shooting forward the moment she had a grip on her body. Shina charged after her and summoned six blades of light around her as projectiles. The swords streaked through the sky faster than she did, yet Izanami was able to use her Magatamas' lasers to intercept them without pausing for even a second.

Instead, Shina then threw her sword out like a spinning discus, causing Izanami to plant her feet down to grind to a halt and kick her right leg up to strike the bottom of the blade and launch it over her head. The blade was planted in the ground behind her, and Izanami raised her right hand to create a sphere of condensed souls as Shina ran at her along the surface of the ground.

Once the girl was at point-blank range and putting all her concentration into a punch aimed at her face, Izanami taunted the efforts with a grin and a wave of the fingers forward, the sphere dropping out of the sky into Shina's face. The girl was dragged back by an incalculable weight that plagued the front of her body, the ground giving in beneath her.

As her body heated up and the howls of the damned echoed in her eardrums, Shina compressed the aura around her inside of her body and released a deep, radiant burst that broke the sphere apart. Izanami then warped behind her and stabbed her right hand out with the intent to puncture through Shina's neck.

With her senses still sharper than the blade she wielded, Shina sensed Izanami coming and shifted her head just enough to the right to dodge the attack, then grappled the Goddess' wrist and threw her overhead to send her flying towards her blade. Izanami's back slammed against it's dull edge, and Shina charged forward and threw her strongest right hook into the Goddess' chest as she rebounded off.

When the blow was struck, Shina turned her blade to it's ethereal state so Izanami was sent through it and had the current aura surrounding her body shoved off. It was replaced in a couple seconds, but it didn't seem to encompass her as much as before. Izanami landed on the ground and called her lost Magatama back to her side, along the way using them to slice off Shina's shoulder plates and cut the side of her left kneecap.

Shina's leg bent down against her will but still she thrust her hand out, plucked her sword from the ground, and sprinted straight at Izanami. She swung her sword downward and missed, but looped it around and attacked again from a slightly different angle. When Izanami glided back to avoid that attack, Shina leapt up and thickened the blade with aura, then descended down and sliced down the front of her foe's body.

Izanami widened her eyes for a moment and watched as her horn was cut in half, both pieces falling to the ground, but then waved both her hands out to send the Magatamas out. Shina summoned a barrier of aura around her body for but a moment, only to find the probes would pass her by completely. As she glanced back to see what they were doing, her defenses began to drop, and Izanami rammed herself into Shina's body and stabbed her fingers through the center of the armor.

Shina saw this and swiped at the Goddess twice with the ethereal blade, getting her licks in before Izanami used her inhuman strength to rip the front of the armor off, with the back following suit a moment after. Now left with the tight leather body suit underneath, Shina was thrown back from the sheer force of her opponent's actions.

She was sent into the Magatama's, which had connected back into a ring and surrounded itself with electricity. The moment she made contact with it, she was zapped by the thousands of volts contained and couldn't help but let out a high-pitched cry of pain until it was over. The electricity fried off bits of the leather and left burn marks on the skin underneath, all of which released a light steam as she fell down.

She landed on her feet and looked ahead, Izanami having disappeared thanks to her time freezing powers. With her senses fried for the moment, Shina was taken aback when Izanami wrapped all her right fingers around the back of her head and planted her face into the ground. Hunching down like a prowling wolf, Izanami stared into Shina's face as she lifted and slammed it down a couple time more, watching as a couple of her teeth broke off and blood oozed from the mouth and nose.

Even with those beatings, Shina's determination didn't falter, and in fact she threw out a dry cough and chuckle. Izanami slammed her back into the ground and rose up. She placed the lone Magatamas on the ground around her and began to spin them near the feet, summoning a whirlwind of souls around her body that threw Shina skyward.

The whirlwind grew into a mighty tornado, the souls becoming visible as pale, screaming, skull-faced ghouls. Izanami flew up and grabbed onto the front of Shina's face as she was suspended in mid-air, using it to climb over her body and position herself perfectly upside-down. Shina got a full look into the face of raw insanity, as Izanami's irises were consumed in a snow-white glow and all that remained were her dot-sized pupils.

"All hope shall be buried in an eternity of darkness!" The sky shattered behind the goddess, revealing a mess of stretched and distorted black two-dimensional skulls amongst a violet landscape, with all but Izanami's eyes and devilish grin being swept up into darkness. Izanami planted her right foot into Shina's chest hard enough to crack the ribs, and as the darkness parted the two were surrounded by seven clouded serpents with the thick boned skulls of humanesque demons.

The serpents reared their heads back and then dove down at Izanami's command, as she dragged Shina down with her towards the ground, "Now fall…Be strangled by the despair of the abyss!"

All the forces collided with the ground simultaneously, unleashing a widespread geyser of thousands of souls and dark violent energy, culminating in a large pitch black soul with bright hollow white eyes and mouth screaming it's way out of the chaotic mass. When the howls escaped, there was silence save for the whispers of the wind, and Izanami stood in the center of it all with her head hung and her body limping towards the left.

She erected herself back up and looked down at Shina, who was spread across the ground with her gauntlets and grieves cracked, blood trickling down from a couple wounds on her forehead until it seeped into her hair and went over her closed right eye. She wasn't moving, and no longer had a hand on her blade.

Izanami closed her eyes and cracked a tiny smile, remarking to her fallen foe, "This was the inevitable outcome. Your fate had been predetermined from the start, all you had managed to do was delay it."

She then turned and floated away, scanning the quiet landscape for any sign of her other two foes. With a smirk, Izanami spoke to herself, "Run all you want…There is nowhere in this world you can escape to."

As she began to budge a little bit forward, a bright wave of light then struck her back. Looking back over her left shoulder, Izanami saw that Shina had gotten back on her feet. She had her blade pointed at the ground, but lifted it up and held it in both hands. The gauntlets and grieves crumbled to pieces, leaving her with what was no better than bare skin, and even that was burnt and bleeding to the point that she looked like a walking corpse.

Her hair was stiffened by the blood trickling down the back, and her right eye had to stay shut to avoid being infected by the dirt and blood that leaked down her forehead. With heavy pants, she smiled and said with a raspy voice, "I've already died six times before…You'll have to try a little harder than that, bitch."

Turning around, Izanami folded her arms out before the chest and scoffed, "Hmph…How curious. I have not shown you mercy. It seems you simply die hard."

"I…" Shina's head hung but she forced it back up, her vision blurring every few seconds, "I have something worth fighting for, and you don't…Y-You say that fate's in your favor? I say you're wrong…"

"Oh? Even now, you still hold faith in the slimmest of hopes that you will be victorious?" Izanami held not mercy in her tone, and mocked the girl's bravery with a gleeful smile.

"I-I can still beat you…I-In fact, I'm putting it all on the line here and now! One final wager…to decide this battle!" Shina declared with resounding resolve as whatever aura she had left was pooled all into her blade, giving it a glow that was double the area of the weapon itself.

"One final attack, is that it?" Humored, Izanami closed her eyes and held her arms at the hips, "You are welcome to try. Once you fail, the last embers of your hope shall be snuffed out, along with your life."

She stood still, a pristine statue amongst the desolate wasteland, and awaited Shina's attack with a piercing glare. The girl held her breath for a moment and breathed a heavy sigh. Her body was shaking, and it was a wonder that her knees didn't collapse like a line of dominoes. Everything she had left was in her sword.

Closing her eyes and taking one last breath, Shina had no certainty that she would succeed. But to her, that didn't matter. Making the effort to try, whether it led to success or failure, was enough to get her feet moving. She leapt out, raising her sword back behind her head even as her elbow bones cracked. She dove down, slashing forth with all her might down into the center of Izanami's body as the blade turned ethereal.

There was no spectacle, no lights, nothing but the sound of Shina's feet touching the ground and Izanami's body being shoved back ten feet indicating that anything had occurred. Shina fell over on her hands and knees, the sword dropping beside her while Izanami closed her eyes and chuckled.

"…Pointless."

She raised her right hand up, letting it linger in the air pointed at Shina's body, and twisted her head a little to the left, "But I always expected nothing more than that."

That hand went above the head, and Izanami concentrated on the souls of the damned for one final attack. However, not even a single soul heeded her call. She paused and blinked, then began to lower her hand, only for the sound of shattering glass to come from around her body and cause her very being to collapse to the ground.

Her puppet-like knee bent back and her body sat down in a stiff heap, only her eyes and mouth able to move. She stared straight towards the sky, murmuring in confusion, "What is the meaning of this? Surely this vessel has not run out of energy…"

"Hehehe…" A youthful, mischievous chuckle came from Shina, drawing Izanami's attention her way.

"Why do you laugh in the face of your demise, child?" Izanami inquired, her face contorting into an addled scowl.

"I gotta history lesson for ya…Izanami. We Aurians…live and breathe aura, which is the essence of our beings. Your powers, your identity…It's all tied to your aura." Shina's body shook as she pulled her right hand up and pointed at Izanami, a rough smirk crossing her face.

"And I just took out AAAAAAAALL of your aura, so you wanna know what that means?" Izanami's glare turned sour, as she realized the implications of what had just happened.

"Heh…It means, for the next five minutes, you're no different than any of those 'mortals' you've scorned."

"…Interesting. In the face of your utter demise, you choose to sleight me with a trite joke," Izanami widened her eyes and smiled from cheek to cheek, lifting her head up with a rusted creak, "So what if I am 'powerless'? You are in no state to finish me off."

"But for a Goddess as old as time immemorial, five minutes spans but a blink of the eye. And when this period is over, I will tear your shambled body until not even your blood can be identified!"

"Well…Guess it's a good thing that I'm not the one who's gonna kill you." Shina let her eyelids droop shut and laid her palm down, leaving Izanami perplexed until a cold, lifeless sensation crept across her body.

She shivered and, through a subconscious will, twisted her head back to see what was behind her. Standing just five feet away was Hakumen, who now wielded a copy of Ookami gifted to him by Trinity. The warrior took his blade in both hands and raised it high above his head.

"Like the surface of water, I calm my mind, let this become mine blade…Let evil be perished…Empty Sky Form…!" The world turned to black as Hakumen began to circle his blade in a clockwise fashion, etching a circle of purifying white flames around his body. Roman numerals, starting from "1" and going to "12", formed as the blade made it's rounds. Each number created sounded off increasingly louder ticks similar to what would be heard from a clock of yore.

Izanami squirmed and grit her teeth down, her eyes widening into a fervent glare. Then, and only then, did she realize what it meant to be 'powerless'. There was no domain for her to hold in her thrall, not that of death, nor that of time. She held no more worth than that of the puppet-like vessel she inhabited, and for the first and only time in her life, she begged.

"No…you will not dare to lay a hand upon me!"

Hakumen completed the clock, and church bells rang out as the man planted his right leg back and held his sword at the ready behind him.

"Time Killer!" His movements were instantaneous, and he appeared on the other side of Izanami with his blade already swung forward without a sound. The clock he created was then left cracked into many shards that scattered to the silent winds.

Izanami froze up, stiffer than the joints that she once controlled. Her body began to disappear, fading from the physical world to become one with the spiritual beyond. Ookami disappeared from Hakumen's grasp and he stood up, not even giving his foe the slightest acknowledging glance as he remarked, "I have killed the 'time' which you now possess. Welcome death, Izanami."

The 'Goddess' cracked a grin. It was the best she could muster in this frail state of being, but she didn't leave this world quietly. Staring between Hakumen's legs towards Shina, Izanami remarked curtly, "The power to wipe clean the state of one's being…Heheh, in death, I welcome the fact that I was right about how destructive mortals can truly be…"

She then faded from existence, leaving behind not even a hair.

For a couple moments, Shina had to blink and assure herself that she was not in the middle of her own 'dream'. It was only when Hakumen and Trinity approached her that she could confirm that it was all real.

"You did it, Ms. Aurora. Thank Amaterasu you survived…" Trinity remarked, short on breath and sweating after creating Ookami. Shina's eyelids grew heavy and began to shut, but with a bright smile on her face she sunk towards the ground with pride.

"Alex…I…did it…" She murmured before laying her body down on it's side, looking so serene it was if though she laid on a bed of flowers. Hakumen looked down at her for a moment and then over to Trinity.

"We owe this battle to you, Trinity Glassfille."

"…Thank you, Lord Hakumen…But I'm afraid I can't enjoy this victory for long. Now that I've exhausted this child's magic, I will return to a state of slumber, perhaps forever." Through the child's body, Trinity gave the warmest smile to Hakumen.

"But, it shall be a peaceful slumber…"

"Very well. I shall stay here and keep a watch on the child of aura until the successor arrives." Hakumen kept his intentions and emotions simple on the surface, but deep down even he was happy to have felled Izanami. The greatest battle this planet had known since the triumph over the Black Beast was over, even if only few had bore witness to it…

 _Next Time: Victorious Wo-_

"EHEHEH…YEAHAHAHAHAHA!" A rancorous laughter broke the peaceful silence, and with a gasp Trinity turned and looked northbound. Hakumen did the same, remarking in disbelief, "That laughter…It couldn't be!"

Standing atop a raised chunk of bedrock with Ouroboros spinning around one pointer finger extended at his hip and the artifact piece gripped in the other hand was the yellow-cloaked man, who Trinity identified with a frazzled declaration of "Y-Yuuki Terumi…?! B-But the Elemental Overlord-"

"Killed me?! Ehehehe, oh _trust me_ there's a **DAMN** good story behind that you glasses wearing _bitch_. But not like I'm gonna waste my breath telling that to **you**." With venomous disdain in his voice, Terumi set his right eye aglow and stared down at the heroes with the utmost condescension.

"In fact, by the time that brat shows his shit-eating face around these parts, neither of you will be alive to see the hell I raise for him! You see, I plan to put on one HELL of a show for my pathetic 'sister', and unfortunately for all of you…" Terumi clasped the artifact piece in his right hand, causing a hellish black aura to erupt around his body as the glow in his eye went from green to blue, "You're no longer needed in my script! EHEHEHEHEHEHE!"


	22. Chapter 22

Having scoured the magical city of Ishana down to the last lamppost and pebble, Alex flew his way back to the mainland with a dour expression and a mixture of disappointment and frustration in his heart, sprinkled by the lingering regrets over what had happened earlier.

" _W-Why…?"_ Ragna's pained, lifeless gaze left a permanent impression in Alex's memories. The look of sheer disbelief coupled with his agony of a certain demise, made the boy question whether this entire plan he made had been worth it.

"Grhh…!" Alex bit his teeth down and jerked his head aside, but the imagery would not go away. There was no escaping what he had done. Even if all the evils in the world were eliminated, he still had failed the people who would survive. Especially Rachel, who would never, EVER forgive him.

Swerving his head forward with eyebrows sunk and no attention paid towards the world around him, the boy whispered in melancholy, "I don't want to believe this is real, but it is…With my own two hands, I slaughtered this world's hero as if he was a rabid _dog_."

" _And like there is anything wrong with that…"_ The other voice in Alex's mind spoke out, causing the boy to wrench his head up and growl, "Shut UP!"

" _You had no choice but to kill him."_

"There is ALWAYS a choice!"

" _NOT for_ _ **US**_ _!"_ That voice roared out through the recesses of the boy's subconscious, before reducing to a more relaxed decibel, _"And the sooner_ _ **you**_ _recognize that…The sooner_ _ **we**_ _can make them_ _ **all**_ _pay."_

"Grrr, bastard…" Alex cursed himself twice over with just a single word, then shook his head and looked forward, not even realizing that whatever guilt he felt before had just whittled away to nothingness.

After spending a few moments in silence, he looked downward and murmured, "Now, Ibukido is around here somewhere. Just have to find a giant tower and…"

Looking up for a moment, he saw said tower piercing the dark cloudy skies just a couple miles away. The land around the tower looked worn down, a clear sign of a vicious fight, but the lack of action at the present time meant said battle must have drawn to a close.

Alex didn't even try to think about who was the victor, nor did he say a word about his hopes at that moment. He simply curled his fists up before his chest and dove straight down to the center of the battle torn lands, landing on the highest precipice of stone he could and scanning the environment right away.

His heart thumped against his chest, the only sound that entered his ears beyond the howling breeze that kicked up every few seconds. His eyes were stiff and unblinking, and his mouth began to squirm into an uneven frown. As his heart began to beat against his chest so many times he quickly lost count, an aquamarine glow stuck out from the rest of the murky lands.

"Shina…!" The boy gasped her name with a mix of shock and relief and shot off from the rock so fast it crumbled behind him. Crossing the land in a couple seconds, his heart stopped for a second as he saw her lying down with blood across the body and the armor from her Valkyrie Drive ripped asunder.

The sudden cessation of his heart beating left his mind grasped in a vice, his vision distorting as his body was overcome by a shaky dizziness. He wobbled forward for a moment and then sprinted to her body, collapsing onto his hands and knees and exclaiming her name. He started off with a normal tone of voice, but as he got louder the tone got raspier and desperate.

Unable to tell if she was breathing, Alex dug his fingertips into the ground until the edges of the nails broke off, and then proceeded to throw his hands at the tops of her shoulders and wrench her body upright off the ground. Though her body flopped around into an uncomfortable looking pose, at least her legs were spread out well enough to keep her stable.

Biting his teeth down, Alex began to shake Shina while growling out with increasing frustration, "Come on, come on, COME ON…!"

"Ah-ah…" Shina's brows lowered and she smacked her lips, and after leaving his mouth agape the boy grit his teeth into a smile and placed his chin against the top of his chest.

" _Thank god…"_ He looked up just in time to see her eyelids creaking open. Her eyes were dry and musty, looking just the tiniest bit bloodshot, but still had the same abundant energy projecting off of them as they always did.

"O-Oh hey Alex…Ya found me…" She murmured with a smile as pleasant as the morning sun. Alex gave his head a couple short shakes and chuckled for an unnecessarily prolonged period of time before smiling himself.

"Y-You idiot…You were napping." Alex said, his tone belaying lamentation towards himself for being foolish enough to believe she had died.

"I-I'm…pretty exhausted. Taking down Izanami drained all of my aura…" Shina had to close her eyes partway through to yawn.

"Izanami's dead?" Alex inquired.

"Yepperooni…" Shina murmured, mustering up a jolly tone as best she could, "There were some snags buuuut…your plan's worked perfectly Alex."

"…R-Right," Alex looked at the ground with a drooping glare before jerking his head back up and saying, "Though there's still the matter of the artifact piece. Terumi didn't have it on him, and I couldn't find it at their base in Ishana."

"Oh…really? I-I wonder where he hid it…" Shina closed her eyes and tried to think, but didn't appear to be able to make much progress as her lips soon turned into a frown.

"Wouldn't surprise me if that bastard threw it into the Boundary as one final middle finger before he died…Whatever, if that happened then Kokonoe or Hakumen might be able to help us get it," Alex then gave a brief look around of the area and inquired, "Speaking of, where did he and Trinity go?"

"H-Huh…?" Shina blinked twice then joined Alex in looking around, murmuring to him, "They were still here before I fell asleep…"

As Alex looked around, it was not his sense of sight that revealed to him the truth, but rather his sense of smell. A rotten stench mixed with the foul dryness of blood entered his nostrils and pointed his vision westward past Shina's body. There he locked onto a sight that left his stomach curling in disgust.

Platinum's body lied on the ground, now split in two with the legs mutilated beyond recognition and the guts spew across in a bubbly, bloody mess. Muchorin was snapped into multiple pieces and stabbed into her body to pin her down, the heart shaped top used on her chest in particular. The death had to have been recent, seeing how fresh and overpowering the smell was.

"W-What the hell…?" Alex's eyes froze on that sight for a good ten seconds before it became too much for him to bear. He swung his head back to face Shina, who began turning her head over her shoulder. With a couple shakes of the body, Alex had hoped to draw her attention away, but it was too late.

Her eyes widened and mouth went agape as she stammered, "H…huh…? How is she…dead?"

Her body didn't have the strength to muster up more than a basic expression of fear, yet her response to the sight left Alex wondering, "What do you mean 'how?' Izanami would have-"

"No, no no…! She was still alive, I-I swear!"

Alex paused as Shina swore to the utmost she could the truth she knew of, then with a shaky gaze he began to look around some more. Knowing Platinum was dead, the battlefield turned into an uneasy graveyard. Hakumen was gone, Shina was very weak, and Alex's mind raced with a warning that it wasn't safe to be here any longer.

"We're going!" Alex blurted out as he tightly grabbed Shina by her biceps and began to pull her up. She widened her eyes, her mind frazzled still by the mutilated corpse imprinted upon it.

"R-Right…" She went along with Alex's wishes, but was having difficulty pulling herself up properly.

" _Have to get out of here…! Once we regroup with Kagura in Yabiko, then we can try and fi-"_

" _SPLLLTCCHH!"_

The shirt Alex wore was dampened around the chest. The sensation was hot, and the smell penetrated deep into his nostrils and refused to go away. It was blood, the smell was undeniable. But it wasn't his, there was no pain felt on his entire body. His eyes narrowed in focus onto Shina, whose expression was one of a painful gasping for air, then looked down. Her back, her chest, both had been penetrated by a single green chain with a snake-like head, which was now biting down into the heart that protruded out from the small, bloody hole in her body.

"n…no…" Alex's response was weak and vapid, and with no other part of his body even shivering he lowered his right arm to try and break Shina's heart free. Then, in a single second, the chain pulled back and ripped the heart and all the connecting arteries out of Shina's back, crushing it down to a fleshy pulp to make blood spew out onto most of Alex's face and neck.

He blinked once, then could only continue to look straight into Shina's eyes. The life that was once more abundant than the most bountiful of gardens faded into the void. Blood flooded from her mouth and onto the ground, causing her to start choking weakly. Her body slumped and began to slip out of Alex's grasp.

"God…god no…!" He grabbed her under the armpits and hoisted her up, his eyes squeezing together as tears began to form, washing off some of the blood that had stuck itself to him.

Through a waterfall of blood, Shina's teeth clattered together and she tried to smile. The effort taken to do such a thing was astonishing, but no more-so than her managing to raise two of her right fingers up and rubbing them against Alex's cheek. Her eyelids shut partway, and her smile persisted. No more quiet and weak than a mouse, Shina whispered something to the boy's ear.

"Please….save her…save…Kai…ri…"

Her head slumped against the chest and the eyes shut, forever. Her body, now no lighter than a feather, rested in Alex's hands, which now began to tremble. Any strength he had left failed him, and he dropped to his knees. He drew Shina's body in closer, the slightest budge being enough to make her head lean back. His head lowered, and he placed an ear onto Shina's chest. It was hollowed out, no life to be found.

His grip tightened, his eyes squeezing shut as more tears came gushing out. He could only babble out grunts of pain, his mind was too incoherent to produce anything more, not even a post-mortem confession of love.

"EHEHEHEHE!" An unrelenting sound, a cackle more demonic than human, echoed into Alex's ears, and through sheer instinct his grip around Shina's body tightened as he raised his head up and gazed past her left shoulder. Standing on an erect, jagged stone, lording his presence over the downtrodden boy, was Yuuki Terumi.

The man whipped the bloody Ouroboros around his right hand and leaned his head forward, glaring down at him a smug smile and an eye burning a rotten shade of green under the shadow of his hood.

"So, Phoenix of Destruction…" His face creaked as the sides of his smile rose and he began to delve in the depths of his own depravity to taunt the boy, "Am I a blip in your life _now_?"

 **Chapter 23: Awakening**

Terumi lifted his head up and tucked his hands into his pants' pockets, leaning his head back with a deep and present sneer on his face. Alex breathed in deep and heavy through his nostrils, looking somewhere between melancholic and seething mad. From the gaze Alex projected, Terumi could read his every thought, and that brought a wide grin on his face.

"What's the matter? Confused? Pissed off?" The man taunted the boy with the immaturity of a child, then did a sharp 180 to a more subdued and grim tone, " _Good_ …That's EXACTLY what I wanted to see."

"Shit like that? The indescribable torment and fear in a human's face? That's what makes all this tiresome bullshit worth it." He raised his hands out and bent them so the elbows were leaning close to his pockets.

"But hey, I could enjoy this moment until the bitch's corpse rots to mush…" Terumi grinned and widened his eyes as far as they could, " **Or** maybe I'll just rub in how screwed from the start you really were. Yeah, that sounds a _shit_ load more fun!"

Alex kept staring at the man without a word, turning Shina's body until the back of her shoulder and the back of her upper legs were cradled in his arms and held point-blank to his chest. His heart thumped slow but hard, giving off an echo with every beat.

For a second, Terumi closed his eyes and contemplated things over, "Now, lets start from the very beginning, shall we? When you 'killed' me…Or should I say, when you killed my vessel, Hazama."

"Gotta hand it to the bastard, he was a top-notch actor. He played the role of 'me' to utter PER-FEC-TION. You and little Raggy actually believed that you were fighting ME the entire time! That's some goddamn hilarious SHIT!" Terumi's voice cracked a little as he was fighting back an insatiable urge to laugh.

"So while good 'ol Hazama burned at the stake, I was allowed to roam freely. And thanks to your little plan there, all the major players were so distracted by their own bullshit that they had no idea I was even around! Boy, the looks on _their_ faces in particular is something I'll never forget!"

Then, Terumi waved his right fingers ahead, causing a large green and black snake to rise up with lips reddened by blood. Opening it's mouth, it spat out a series of body parts and objects onto the ground. There was a damp red squirrel tail, a tattered black and red cape, a couple hands still holding onto Bolverk, the scalp of a skull with the hat of the Izayoi stuck to it, and Jin Kisaragi's head with the eyes gouged out by still ingrained knives.

Alex was still. His heart was a void. There was _nothing_ he felt towards this sight, not anymore. As though any of that would stop Terumi from rubbing his accomplishments into the boy's face.

"Since I was free to screw around for a little bit, I figured…What the heck, might as well take my newfound power out for a spin. Good thing there was a nice flock of sheep herded into the pen." Terumi remarked with a whispering callousness.

"'B-But Terumi…you're supposed to die unless you're Observed…!'" Terumi quivered his lips and did an accurate representation of Alex's voice before sharply dipping into an excited decree of, "No SHIT Sherlock. That's why I'm Observing **myself**. Sure, I run the risk of dying still if I don't find a vessel in time, but I reeeeeeeally don't think that'll be an issue."

Alex's brows raised just a little bit, and Terumi locked onto what the boy believed to be a subtle change in expression and exploited it to dig the wound in deeper.

"Oh, don't tell me…You **didn't** know I could do that, did you?" Terumi smiled and raised his brows a little, "But I thought you knew EVERYTHING about our world, huh? Then why did you fail to anticipate this, HUH?"

Terumi pressed on with a complete and utter lack of mercy, but Alex didn't have a word to say edgewise. Backing off, Terumi shook his head and continued to taunt the boy, "Like I'd expect a genuine answer out of you. Your only solution to everything is 'If it's in my way, kill it…To HELL with the consequences'. What you did to poor wittle Raggy is proof enough of that!"

"…But hey, begrudgingly, I have to respect that. You don't give a shit about what others think of you. You do what you want, play by your own rulebook…" Terumi arched his brows down and gave the boy a look of disdain, "Such a _pity_ that you had to get in **my** way though…There's only enough room in this universe for **one** of us."

Alex's heart went cold and his eyes flared open. Without a word still, he lowered his quivering head and laid it atop Shina's lifeless body, averting his gaze from the malicious man's own. Terumi then smiled from cheek-to-cheek and said, "But enough about you, lets get back to _me_."

"So after I had my fun with those idiots, I ended up taking a quick trip to the shitty vampire's castle to claim the ultimate prize from her old bastard's coffin." Reaching into his pocket, Terumi pulled out a glowing, heated gold and red cube and held it out towards Alex.

"Perhaps you'll recognize this. It's called the Hihiirokane. An _irritatingly_ well-crafted sword that's one of the few things that can actually hurt me." Terumi closed his fingers together and smashed the cube into tiny cubes that fell out from his grasp, prompting a joyous smile to cross his face.

"But not anymore. It's served it's purpose now, " Raising his hand up, Terumi pretended to sprinkle the remaining cubes on the ground as his explanation continued, "See, it's not only effective at cutting _my_ soul. It can kill _any_ kind of soul."

Terumi backed up a little and spread his arms out length-wise from his shoulders, and a series of green-lit chains pulled themselves up from the ground and rose up high above Terumi's head. Bound in place without so much as a visible struggle was Hakumen, whose head hung low and body was as stiff as a puppet.

"Hehehe…Old Hakumen put up a good fight in that stolen armor, I'll give him that much…But it was ultimately just as futile as his entire existence. At least he didn't die a dog like that **bitch** Trinity, or that equally worthless corpse you're coddling in your arms."

With his brows arching down, Terumi looked a little more irritated than he did a moment ago, and he murmured out, "To think though, that she'd have found a way to grind my nerves one last time before she was finally snuffed out. That she'd have the sheer, unmitigated gal to plead, to **beg** …For my shit-brained 'sister' to guide this world to peace in her final moments."

"That's always been something that has pissed me off the most about you humans. You're so primitive, so worthless, that you desperately try and cling to the power of the Gods in hopes that they will answer the call and offer the salvation you all desire to cravenly."

"I can't even BEGIN to tell you how many times I was forced to sit and listen to the cries of the pathetic trash that littered this world. Not like I had much of a choice in the matter…I was 'born' with that shitty burden carved into my very being!"

"Worst of all, I had to stay subservient to my 'sister's' will. So long as I was tied to that wretched Susano'o Unit, everything I wanted meant nothing. She would always decide what I should do, even if I hated it with every goddamn fiber of my being."

"So, year after year, I would endure the pointless prattle of those heckling humans. Their pathetic cries bore a hole in my eardrums, scratching and chewing at my brain like a herd of starving MICE…"

"Eventually, I just simply had enough of it all…What I felt towards those worthless mortals fed what was once a dormant, stagnant 'God' with a will born of pure hatred and malice…And without a moment's hesitation, I freed myself from that accursed Susano'o Unit and began my long-awaited rebellion."

"It all began with tricking humanity into discovering my abandoned armor, then using that as a catalyst to have them find my 'sister'. Humans, so arrogant and weak, were easy to lure into causing their own undoing. They nearly annihilated the world trying to claim the power of the Gods for themselves…Were it not for my 'sister's' misguided sympathy, I would've relished in the damnation of humanity even as my body ceased to exist."

"But alas, you can't always get what you want, can you? So I just bided my time, waiting for another opportunity to bring my 'sister's' world to ruin. And boy, lemme tell ya! Your sudden appearance almost screwed the pooch big time on hundreds of years worth of planning!" Terumi paused and grinned, showing how little this matter fazed him.

"Yet it's also because of you that I have been able to get this far. Izanami, Relius, Ragna, Noel, Jin, the Izayoi, Azrael and ALL the rest of the so-called Six Heroes have been taken out for good. And it's all thanks to **you** ," Terumi raised his hands together and clapped them vigorously, reeling his head back and exclaiming to the skies, "Everyone! Give a big round of applause to your 'savior'! May his 'heroic' deeds forever be carved into the annals…OF HISTORY! Ehehehehe…HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The mocking laughter was just the icing on a devilish cake of Terumi's design, and yet it would come as no surprise that he was still just getting started. Swinging one arm out and tilting his head to the left, he made an effort to grind the failure down into Alex's broken shell of a brain until there would be nothing left.

"As if anyone would actually root for a worthless piece of shit like you. See, that's the difference between you and me kid…The two of us may not give a shit what others think of us, but when it comes to judging ourselves **you** are the only one who lies to themselves about who they really are."

"Elemental Overlord? Give me a break…We both know you've never cared about the title or the duties that come with it. You just wanted the power, the power to _destroy_. Cause when you peel away all the 'layers' of the boy named 'Alex Whiter', all you're left with is a man-child throwing a tantrum at the universe all because poor mommy and daddy aren't around to shower him with praise. You don't have a purpose in life, you hate everyone and everything around you…And yet you keep going."

"Of course, not like you'd ever stop and consider ending your own misery. You have too much pride to EVER do such a thing. It's ironic, really…The only thing the Phoenix of Destruction cannot destroy is himself!"

Terumi stared down at Alex, who still wasn't moving or speaking, and grumbled out to himself, "I swear, it's like talking to a wall…"

Reeling back a little, Terumi reached into his left pocket and pulled out the artifact piece, holding it out before his chest, "But don't worry. It'll be my _pleasure_ to do the job for you."

Holding his arms out but placing the hands even with the now floating artifact piece, Terumi was swallowed up in a pitch black aura that only the dark blue embers from his eyes could escape through. Tremors spread out through the land, starting off weak and growing stronger. The aura grew out like an uncontrolled wildfire, becoming a violent tornado of green and blue tinted darkness as a seal formed at Teurmi's feet.

"And I won't stop at just you…This whole world, my 'sister', and those thankless humans she sympathizes with…! I'll destroy it all! Return this world to zero, and rebuild it anew! But my world won't be one of 'hope'…There will be no 'dreams'…The humans that inhabit my world shall live an eternal nightmare, one ruled by fear and DESPAIR. They will cry out, begging for the release of death, but that day will never come! So take one last look at this shitty, rotten world…Cause it's about to get a whole HELL of a lot worse!"

"Susano'o Unit…ENGAGE!"

Within the maelstrom of chaos, Terumi called out to the power that was rightfully his. The years spent apart mattered little to the divine power that guided that empty shell of an armor. As the Ouroboros shattered around it, the Susano'o armor gravitated towards the tornado and became one with the man inside. The clouds split open, lightning crashing against the ground without warning or reason, splitting open the world without a shred of mercy.

The winds howled as though in the middle of a violent hurricane, yet when it ceased it was both abrupt and silent. The darkness around Terumi disappeared, and in his stead now stood something far greater than what he was before.

The Susano'o Unit, whose pristine white appearance once cultivated hope in dire times, would now forever taint those hearts with it's overall black appearance. The hair on the back of the armor had become undone, now nothing more than a wild mane meant to match the fox-like features the armor had now gained, which included a mouth full of sharp fangs, horns shaped like fox ears, and claws that would rend even mountains to dust. Yet along with the majesty of a fox came the wickedness of a devil, as the armor had grown a scaly tail and the pauldrons shared the same design as his mask, complete with glowing flame-like eyes. Around his body were striking, azure blue lines filled with raw, otherworldly power, all threatening to consume his body.

There was no sight of the artifact piece, nor of the specter named Terumi. All that remained was a god descended upon the mortal plain, his presence carrying a grandeur far greater than the one who dared to call themselves 'Izanami'. He didn't even have to budge for his power to be recognized. There were no restraints to speak of now. He was complete, unchained, and had not a hint of weakness present across his entire body.

The god raised it's right hand and looked out, then stared at it's left. He clenched the fingers inward, hearing the metallic cricks and cracks for all they were worth, then focused upon his right hand as he said, "It has been a long time since I have donned this armor. The time loops I've experienced, incalculable…The possibilities I have predicted, unfathomable…The patience I endured… _unbearable_."

Gone was the maniacal words of a gleeful madman. In this armor, 'Terumi' spoke with a very deep, subdued voice, using a somewhat more eloquent manner of speech to convey his thoughts. Lowering his hands, he looked towards the sky, seeing the sights that lied beyond humanity's understanding.

"But soon, dear 'sister', I shall finally see an end to your worthless existence, and to everything you hold so dear…"

Susano'o looked down, gazing upon the unflinching Alex, and began to release just a fraction of his power from his body. The ground cracked at his feet, the lakeside waters began to churn as though in the midst of a storm, and lightning continued to strike down. Pushing himself onto his toes and hunching forward, Susano'o lorded his presence over the boy as his power continued to make the world shake.

"Stare into the abyss and behold, Elemental Overlord…This is the power of a **true** God." As he spoke, the ground broke apart below him and made him descend closer to the surface of the planet. The stones at the edge of the lake crumbled to dust, and the water that splashed up into the air burned away to a fine mist. Susano'o took a couple steps forward, his footprints leaving a heated glow etched into the stone.

"Do you see it? How even the world itself bends to my mere presence? Already, it recognizes it's new ruler." He stopped ten feet away from the boy and looked down, his towering shadow cast upon his body.

"The abilities of that artifact were far greater than even I could have anticipated. It is as though the Azure itself courses through my veins. Out of gratitude for that witch's services…I shall be sure to grant her a swift and merciless death."

"And it will not end there. With this power, even the 'higher-ups' shall leave this world stricken with fear. I shall reduce creation itself to ashes, starting with you, Phoenix of Destruction…"

"I am strength. I am valor. I am whole! With divine blade in hand shall I sever the threads of evil from this world! I am THE Susano'o of Mikoto! The end has COME!" With an arrogant creed, Susano'o raised his right hand up and spread the claws out, all of them pointed down at Alex's skull.

It hadn't been very long ago that the boy had grown dull to the sounds and sights around him. His eyes were closed, and tears that became increasingly drier pushed forth. What was happening registered in his mind to some extent, but not enough for him to care.

All he could think about, was her.

A girl who was, at the start, nothing more than a nuisance to him. Someone who, in all honesty, he had only helped out of a seeming obligation to his duty as an Elemental Overlord. But then, the more he dealt with her, the more vulnerable he grew to be to the kind of person she was. He began to see her as more than just another person. She was a friend, someone who he could be just a little bit more open to than most others, even himself.

Yet, somewhere along the way, those emotions grew into genuine affection. For all the foolishness he had to put up with, there were many times when she had made him smile and even laugh. She cried, she got angry, and though her heart may have sometimes wavered the boy never had the impression that she would ever truly give up doing what was right.

But now, none of that mattered. Every emotion shared, every memory forged, every second spent, it had all been dragged down into the oppressive abyss along with her life. As Alex continued to cradle her in his arms, all he wanted, for even just a single second, was to feel her warmth one last time.

There was nothing to gain from a corpse, however, beyond the cold grip of reality. Closing his eyes to avert the sight did nothing. Every good memory he tried to focus on was buried under the imagery of her lifeless visage, no matter how quickly he tried to see them all. Then, between the cracks that formed from visions of melancholy, Alex repeated a memory that he rarely and never wished to see.

The day his world changed forever. When, on one seemingly innocent starry night, the heavens decreed that he would live a life of suffering, starting with the demise of his parents by the hands of a rogue celestial comet. From that memory, all others ceased to be in his mind, leaving nothing but darkness.

Blood dripped from Shina's body and fell into a puddle on the ground, a ripple forming in the darkness of Alex's mind every time. But with every ripple, a single word was spoken. First faint, it grew ever louder with every ripple, until the boy could no longer deny what his body was urging him to do.

" _Kill…"_

" _Kill…"_

" _ **KILL…"**_

Susano'o, without pause for mercy, brought his claw down upon Alex's skull. A shockwave rippled out, and the ground around the two was torn to shreds and raised up in an uneven heap. The god held his hand down, curious to find that the demise he wished upon the boy was not swift, as he felt not blood or bone on his palm but a wall he could not break.

"…Even now, exposed for your blasphemy and hypocrisy, you find reason to resist me?" Susano'o's hand began to tremble, and without even thinking on it he pulled it away and made a short hop back. He looked around, finding that the world was continuing to break. The waters became dehydrated, the ground breaking down until not even molecules of dust remained, and the clouds above were being dragged towards the surface.

All these many forces of nature gave heed to only one, and it was not who Susano'o wanted it to be. Everything around him, from even the simplest leaves to the raging infernal volcanoes far in the distance, broke down and became nothing more than a pure golden essence that streamed through the air and entered Alex's body.

"…Impossible." Was all the god could bring himself to speak.

The tears ended, and the boy's arms drooped and sent Shina rolling to the ground. His head jerked back and forth in a spasm, faint but pained grunts forcing their way through his mouth, and he dug his fingertips into the rock below when said pain became too much to bear. His back bubbled and bulged near the shoulder blades until splitting open, his familiar pair of Phoenix wings pushing out all drenched in blood and sinew.

The golden flames wreathed themselves around the boy's body, and through a raspy throat he opened his blood and spit drenched mouth and let loose a broken scream of anguish.

"Ghhh….Ghhh….GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The ground fractured for miles on end, illuminated by a bright and flame-like glow. The pressure in these cracks grew until they burst, spewing lava across the lands. Susano'o stood his ground not in awe of the sight, but rather without even the slightest hint of fear. Watching Alex struggle to pull himself off the ground, the god had an easy time finding a way to mock the boy.

"Even the divine power of the Phoenix is nothing before me now, child. But if you wish to die a futile death, then that shall be the one prayer I will gladly answer."

Susano'o began to raise his right hand up, but in doing so Alex swung his head up and revealed a set of dark red irises and golden-red sclera to the god. He was frozen with an expression neither angered nor sad. With a blink of the eyes, he was gone, and with another blink he had returned with his right hand wrenched around the god's elbow.

No hesitation kept Alex at bay. With all his strength, he pulled on Susano'o's arm and ripped the whole thing clean from the rest of the armor. The force required to do so sent a shockwave ripping across the entire land of Ibukido, smashing through the tower in the distance and causing the whole thing to start crashing down a second later. Raw energy burst forth from the god's arm socket, and he took a couple steps back and rested his other claw close to it as it began to heal up.

"What…is the meaning of-"

Susano'o was interrupted by the faint sound of his arm being tossed aside onto the ground, along with Alex addressing the God with an emotionless drawl.

"I had a purpose…once…" The boy hung his head while the arms drooped down and went limp, "And until now, I never realized how much just having that meant to me…"

"You're right though…There was a time when I thought the whole universe was shit, and that there was nothing worthwhile about it…But she…she was changing all that. Cause of her…I-I honest to god thought there was something worthwhile to keep me going…"

"…But…I guess that doesn't matter now, huh?" Nothing about Alex's tone carried a hint of life to it. As though he was no different from a zombie or a robot, he continued to drone on.

"She's gone…the hope, the memories…the love…all of it gone too…Everything I did for her, everything she did for me…What was the point of any of it?"

"…Now I'm alone with nothing but my hatred…All this **hatred** inside, tearing me apart, like a wildfire that refuses to be put out!" Alex's voice began to raise, and the fiery tears in the surface of the world spewed forth lava so intense it was as though both of them stood in the midst of an active super volcano.

"AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" His voice roared out and parted the clouds above. The skies were not heeding his power, but rather they were in fear of his rage. He raised his head up, biting down on his quivering teeth as he took in many unstable breaths of air through the nostrils.

"It wasn't enough you killed Ragna…But then, Shina?!" Alex raised his body upright and clenched his fists out against his hips, his wings spread wide as the lava erupted in a geyser behind him.

"SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO DESERVE THIS! SHE WAS SELFLESS, KIND, DELICATE…I LOVED HER MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD, AND YOU TOOK HER AWAY FROM ME! I…HAVE HAD ENOUGH…OF YOUR **BULLSHIT** …!"

With an expression unhinged to the point of looking nothing resembling a human's, Alex screams shook the planet whole as Susano'o could only look on without a word, "THIS TIME YOU'RE GOING TO PAAAAAAAAAY…TEEEEEERRRUUUMMIIII!"

 _Next Time: Gods and Monsters_


	23. Chapter 23

The land of Ibukido shook without any end in sight, the skies roared with thunder and tore the ground asunder with lightning. Whatever ground happened to remain was soon washed away in a growing sea of lava. From afar, atop an unstable perch at the edge of a building's rooftop, the vampire Rachel observed these sights with a heavy heart.

Though her body projected her usual uncaring demeanor, the sigh she released was one of heart wrenched melancholy, one not even she could hear amidst the chaos that threatened to bring ruin to the world she cherished. From this distance, it was the only way for her to safely watch as Susano'o awakened, along with the boy's anger erupting far beyond his control.

When the god's arm was ripped off and the shockwave spread across the lands, the building she stood upon crumbled apart and was blown away, leaving her to hover towards the growing, burning cracks down below. However, only a couple feet into her descent, she was caught by a soft and waving spread of a pink, silky fabric. She raised her brows and let the fabric settle into an even sprawl before she peered over her right shoulder and saw her 'rescuer'.

"Not the best conditions for a stroll, wouldn't you say, Ms. Alucard?" Standing on the opposite end of this thin, stable cloth was Amane, who presented himself in an aloof but pleasant manner to his perplexed company.

With little room to move, Rachel tip-toed around to face the man, who was untouched by either the wind or electricity that spread itself across the skies. Amane smiled and closed his eyes, remarking as the vampire stayed silent, "The least you could do is thank me for the ride."

"Why are you here…Uzume?" Rachel responded with a droll tone of voice.

"Hmmm, it's been a long time since I've been called _that_ name…Regardless, I am here for much the same reason as you are."

"To make mockery of a girl ever so foolish in her beliefs?" Rachel whispered, closing her eyes and tilting her head aside.

"That's a matter I'd rather not indulge in, if you don't mind." Amane said with the utmost respect towards the vampire. Rachel then turned around and looked at the battle unfolding, the world continuing to be torn apart with every blow matched between the fighters.

"…Was it so wrong to have faith in the boy?"

"Not at all." Amane replied without hesitation.

"I wanted to believe, believe his interference would put an end to the evils of this world. That if he succeeded, then Ragna would…" Rachel closed her eyes and sighed.

"Instead of being his savior, the boy was the cause of his demise." Amane was a little more blunt in his choice of words, but carried the same aloofness as before.

"You're so cruel, Uzume…" Rachel murmured.

"…If it's any reassurance, the boy only killed him-"

"No reassurance can mend what has already been broken…" Rachel opened her eyes and looked towards the sky, "He is gone, and the world shall soon follow."

"I wouldn't put two feet in the grave quite yet, Ms. Alucard." Amane said, discarded the jovial mannerisms to be more firm with her. She turned around only partway and remarked with a cross glare, "Do not mock me with your games, Uzume."

"I assure you, this isn't a game to me. No matter how dreary things may appear to be, nothing is said and done until the curtain falls for good," Amane then gestured his right hand out and looked ahead, carrying the presence of serene divinity within his docile expression, "Rachel Alucard, do you want to see Ragna again?"

The vampire had no response beyond a slight raise of her brows, but that was enough of an answer for Amane.

"Then it is our job to see this through to the end. For now, however, we must bide our time. Interfering now is tantamount to suicide." Thus the two would stand, far beyond the sight of those who fought below, standing in the eye of a world-wide natural disaster…

 **Chapter 23: Apocalypse**

In the midst of the erupting lava geysers, Susano'o stood tall against the raging inferno that lied before him, positioning his hands and feet in such a way that he appeared to be inviting Alex to face him. The boy heaved and huffed, every breath as hot as the fires around him, while the god wasted little time in mocking him.

"I can feel your rage, your hatred…It is of worthy sustenance to me. But though you may walk a path of vengeance, I am a peak insurmountable."

Alex raised his head and lunged right at Susano'o, his body wreathed in flames. Susano'o thrust his right fist forward into the boy's chest as he was a centimeter away from attacking. The boy stiffened in place, a shockwave erupting from his body as he launched back for a good thirty feet into a fallen building. Susano'o raised himself up and swiveled his head around a bit, a tense cracking coming from within.

"My body has become perfectly entwined…The risk of separating is-"

"RAAAAHHH!" Alex roared out as he appeared before the god again in an instant, grasping his hand around the armor's neck. Only when the fingers tightened in a vice did the aftereffects of Alex's movements occur, as a straight line was torn through the ground, splashing lava up to the sides in towering waves.

Alex slammed Susano'o down once, then did so again without a second's pause, followed by throwing him forward along the surface of the lava bed. The front most layer of the armor melted down, the god letting out a quiet grunt as he kicked his heels down to try and slow himself. Looking up, he watched Alex came diving in with each of his right fingers now made to look like jagged claws of electricity.

Susano'o threw his hands up and intercepted the strike via his palms. The lava below the two parted in a bubble the size of a large barn, while the highest cloud directly above them split apart summoning a lightning bolt to strike the god. The bolt went through the god and parted the lava into a circular chamber, dragging the two down into the molten grounds underneath.

Susano'o landed and with his nails dug in, threw Alex face first towards the ground. The boy planted his feet firmly down on the uneven floor and began pushing Susano'o back towards the collapsing walls. The god pulled his hands away and summoned a long saber made out of black and blue flames into his right hand.

The act of summoning the weapon alone sliced diagonally through the wall of lava behind him, and he swung that right at Alex's forehead right as the boy was about to make his next attack. The boy recoiled until his heels touched the lava behind him, his head wrenched back to the point that his spine should have snapped in two at his neck.

"There shall be no hiding behind your shields on this day, child. It is time to face the reality…"

A loud snap came from the boy as he leaned his head forward, limping it forward for a second until throwing the same glare of unending fury towards the god that he had from the start. There was a cut along the breadth of his forehead, and any blood that came out boiled into a fine red mist.

Susano'o looked around the boy's body, finding no signs of a barrier having been summoned for his protection. Clutching his hands into fists, the god stood against the lowering tide of lava around him and stayed silent. Alex grit his teeth and growled out to his foe in a grizzled voice, "You're not fighting the Elemental Ovelord…or the Phoenix of Destruction… **Alex Whiter** …WILL BE THE ONE WHO KILLS YOU!"

He charged forward and ducked under Susano'o's right leg as he tried to stomp him down, rising up and digging his bloody left knuckles into Susano'o's chin. That part of the armor was broken off as the god was blown skyward faster than a rocket. Alex caught up ready to continue the assault with punches just as strong, but the god pushed himself back to avoid the second uppercut.

Alex spun around and turned his right leg into a blade of adamantium, while Susano'o crafted another saber of darkness and swung it straight out in a flash. The two forces' collision was brief and precise, a shockwave releasing that blew open a hole in the sky and rocked the sea of lava. The two were sent plummeting down in different directions, crashing onto their own lone islands of rock that were just barely surviving the heat.

Susano'o hunched forward after making a hard landing on his feet, for a moment taking upon the demeanor of a feral beast before rising with the pure confidence of a god. Alex broke apart his island the moment he kicked off to charge at Susano'o, who crunched his fingers inward twice to summon some energy into his hands.

With an effortless jab, he fired the energy out in the form of a high-speed bullet that crossed the air in a second and struck Alex's upper arm hard enough to jerk his entire body to the right, but not enough to halt him more than an inch. Susano'o kept jabbing out more projectiles and taking a step forward each time until he was at the edge of the island, where by then Alex had managed to reach him.

The boy tried to knock the god off his feet with a punch to the jugular, but Susano'o leapt back to avoid it. With a spin to readjust himself, Alex wrapped his leg thick in lava and dove down for a kick, only for Susano'o to slam his right hand into the ground to summon three curved spikes around himself. One of them stabbed through the bottom of Alex's leg, but didn't stop his attack from striking the man's face.

Susano'o dug both his claws into the ground as he was pushed back, his mask now filled with molten cracks. The damage began to heal up, but before he could launch his counterattack the island broke apart and conformed around his body into the shape of a cracked sphere of stone and moss with lava oozing out from the bottom.

Alex held his arms out and tightened the muscles in them until they were as straight as they could be, then swung his body around and around until nothing about him was visible within the tornado of flames he summoned forth. The rocky sphere was flung around it, brought down towards the lava and dragged along it's surface.

Inside, the lava leaked through and burned down parts of the Susano'o armor. Though he was left in a curled up state of being, the god channeled his immense power outward from his body to create an explosion strong enough to shatter the stone to bite-sized pebbles. With nary a clue as to where he was, the god observed his surroundings in a second and saw fit to accept falling towards the lava, where the speed at which he flew allowed him to surf along it's surface the moment he landed down.

Before gravity could drag him into the molten depths, Susano'o hair went flying in many directions and the marks on his body glowed bright enough to overpower the pristine lava around him. The tremors shaking the planet grew worse as his mouth split open, an abundance of energy forming a sphere bigger than the expanse of his jaw.

Aiming towards the sky, Susano'o let loose a beam that dwarfed his body even at it's beginning, the shockwaves from it being felt even by the clouds closest to space. The beam penetrated the tornado Alex was in and carried him away for three seconds, putting him somewhere near the bottom of the troposphere before he was able to muster the power to fight back.

He pushed his body forward, fighting against the unfathomable force tearing into his body, until he was lined up straight with the beam. As bits of his skin peeled off in flakes and the pain burned into his very nerves, he consumed all the clouds present in the sky to give him the power to fight back, shooting himself forward so swift and sudden that he punctured right through the middle of the beam and made it back to Susano'o in a couple seconds.

The god took the full brunt of Alex's fists right into his chest, his armor being plowed deep into the lava while the boy's knuckles ground the front of it apart. The boy smashed his foe against the ground and then curved straight up, pushing him out of the surface. At that point Alex let go of Susano'o and sent him hurtling towards the sky.

Spreading his wings out to halt his flight, the boy stretched his arms out and punched the air with bleeding knuckles. The leather of his glove had broken down and the skin on the other had torn to the point that one could almost make out the bone underneath. Lightning erupted around his fists, carrying enough voltage to power an entire city for a day. He then flew right after Susano'o, tears of blood flying off the sides of his face.

Susano'o composed himself with a hard lurch of his body back, pushing himself down and letting gravity drag him towards his foe. He spun forward and wreathed himself in bright azure flames, crashing against the force of Alex's combined punches and causing the lightning and flames to disperse across the sky. His attack struck harder, splitting the lightning in two as a thunderclap roared across the continent.

Alex began to plummet back down, but Susano'o refused to let it end there and broke out of his spin to wrench his right hand around Alex's face and drag him down. He slammed him down against the surface of the lava with enough force to rattle the back of his head, blood spewing forth from his mouth onto the god's palm.

The boy then trembled and grit his teeth down, fighting against the force holding his body against the lava to thrust both his fists into the Susano'o armor's chest. He managed to break through a couple inches of it but just kept pummeling away at it with a flurry of hundreds of equally pounding blows, each strike creating the echoing sound of clanging cymbals across the sky.

Once he had been pushed away enough for Alex to stand, the boy stood himself on the lava's surface and winded his right fist back, twisting at the wrist until the bones were ready to snap before throwing a punch square into the god's chest. Susano'o then let out a deep grunt as he was sent flying through the air, landing on roughened ground a mile away from the boy.

Though the ground was breaking apart around here, it had not yet fully succumbed to the boy's raging destruction. All the trees in the area had become wilted and dry, and a single touch would have been enough to scatter them to the winds as ash. Susano'o dug his feet into the ground and stood up, paying attention to the fact that Alex seemed to have disappeared from sight.

Then, one of the trees nearby was uprooted and thrown at the god, who brushed his right hand up to break it without looking. Another couple of trees were thrown at him, broken all the same. The next set of trees came at him in a ring, and for that he bent down and spun in a stationary circle while using his tail to smash through the trees until they were splinters at his feet.

Alex then appeared right above Susano'o and thrust his hands down to fire a beam of flame into his back. The god was forced on all fours, the ground around him breaking and rising into many jagged protrusions. Digging his fingers in and crumbling the stone until it was against his palm, Susano'o's body flared up and he began to push against the flames that melted his backside down.

With one single, hard jerk upright, the god unleashed another, smaller beam from his mouth to match the power Alex displayed. He managed to push the flames back to the midway point between the two of them. The power of Susano'o continued to advance a bit at a time, the god believing he had secured his advantage over his foe.

"Your hatred is immense. But **mine** …is far greater than **YOURS**!" Susano'o pulled his arms back and widened his mouth even more, doubling the circumference of the beam and increasing the intensity of the tremors to the point of rocking the sky. Alex's arms were pushed back and the shoulders cracked, but he simply thrust down even harder than before while widening his mouth to let loose a hellish scream.

The flames tripled in size and buried Susano's beam without mercy, driving their way down until the god was consumed in a towering inferno that spread out across the ground for a good couple hundred feet, burning the remaining trees in the area to ashes. Alex pulled back on his hands and started panting after a few seconds, refueling himself by consuming the untouched stone past the edge of the blackened battlefield before he dropped before Susano'o.

The god brushed off the charring with a light shake, repairing any damage to his armor before he swung his arms out and stared his foe down, releasing a burst of energy with the intent to intimidate.

"Hahahaha…." Releasing a deep, bellowing laugh, Susano'o tilted his head to the left and remarked, "You-"

For his efforts, he was decked hard in the face by Alex, dragging him back a couple inches and knocking any loose rubble off the ground. The boy then dropped and threw a left and then a right hook into Susano'o's body, blowing off a chunk of his chest and then abdomen. When he attempted to go for a piercing blow through the armor, Susano'o brought his right knee up into the boy's chin to knock him up, followed by planting his foot down onto his chest to bury him into the ashen grounds.

Alex's body erupted with a spurt of flames that spread up along the god's foot, which dug itself deeper into the boy's chest and began to break the rib cage. With a snapping gnash of his teeth, the boy pushed back with all his might placed into his hands, managing to budge the foot up a few inches. Susano'o pressed back down with greater pressure than before, the bones in Alex's wrists snapping from the second impact.

Alex tried again, putting his elbows into his efforts as well and managing to push the foot up even more than before. Susano'o continued to try and keep the boy buried under his heel, yet no matter his efforts he could not keep him down. Alex's arms vibrated around and his body looked ready to collapse, but from the rage in his heart he churned forth a large and wide-spreading inferno that added more power to his efforts.

With this, he was able to throw the god's foot off-balance, forcing him to leap back as the boy rose to his feet and bent forward, charging straight ahead and ramming the top of his head into the god's chest. Rattling his mind with the impact, Alex did succeed in blowing Susano'o back further, throwing up a little bit of blood in the process.

He rose up and smashed his right fist into the god's chest, stumbling a couple steps forward and throwing his left fist up-and-down in an arc to smash the top of his foe's helmet. Susano'o was forced to bend forward, but he went along with the punch in order to hunch his entire body down and charge along the ground while wreathed in a shell of azure flames.

He dragged Alex forward, impaling the horns on his head into his gut to keep him from budging. However, the boy then threw his hands down and grappled the god by the shoulders, throwing him up overhead before leaping into the air.

Creating a bed of adamantium spikes, Alex threw the god down on top of them, then drove both feet down into his chest to get him impaled by all the spikes. A couple of them pierced into Alex's legs, but he ripped them right out being entirely numb to the pain shooting up through his nerves. Susano'o growled and snapped the spikes his arms were impaled on with a gesture, followed by releasing a burst of energy to scatter the remaining spikes across the ground.

Alex gathered the spikes into a cylindrical bundle and threw them down at Susano'o, who summoned his dark saber and destroyed them all in a single slash. Alex charged through the center of the cut spikes and smashed both his fists into the god's chest, only for Susano'o to grab ahold of his wrists and pull the arms out until they were at length with his shoulders, snapping the bones.

Susano'o threw the boy away, who planted his feet into the ground while his arms fell limp at his hips. His body drenched in a horrid, fevered sweat, Alex then created metal wires out of the ashes around him and penetrated them into his arms through the tops of his shoulders, his face wincing to the point of crying as he did so.

He used these wires to control his arms in the same manner as he would normally, only now he had to fight through an excruciating amount of pain to boot. Every movement of his arm caused blood to spurt from the holes in his shoulders, the skin growing a redder shade as the veins went visible.

He ran at Susano'o and threw his fists in hard, broad arcs, stumbling with every step he took. The god treated the boy like a tantrum throwing child, grabbing him by the top of his head and holding him in place.

"Your continued persistence is pointless. You should let yourself burn like the _trash_ you are."

" _Burn instead,_ _ **TERUMI!**_ " Alex let out a guttural roar filled with a gargling of blood, unleashing a gigantic explosion of fire upon the god. Thrown into an inferno hotter than an active volcano, Susano'o's body went numb as the heat scorched the surface of his armor and penetrated deep into the core of his being.

When the explosion came to an end, Susano'o could not see much for a couple moments, while molten parts of his armor dripped out between the fangs. The sizzling smoke across his boiling body faded as he healed up, but even he noticed that the pace of his regeneration was slowing down while his opponent showed no signs of doing the same.

Alex stood a hundred feet away, panting and drawing in more energy from the planet to sustain himself. Fissures split open in the ground around him, and he pushed the metal rods out of his body as the wounds inflicted upon him patched up just enough for him to push on.

Susano'o stared at a boy, seeing him as nothing more than a zombie that refused to pass on. He didn't understand, he couldn't possibly even BEGIN to understand, that it was not just rage that drove Alex to fight through pain. The boy had little left to drive him. All hope was crushed, the future was cold and uncertain, and all that remained in his void of a heart were the undying fires of vengeance.

It didn't matter how many times the god overpowered the Elemental Overlord. He could break his bones, rip the limbs asunder, perhaps even crush his head to mush, but the boy would continue to persist in this world until he had seen to it that his enemy died with him.

"…A lone human with enough hatred to feed even the gods. I almost pity the fact that you have to fall to my might." Susano'o swung his hands above his head and formed a gigantic saber in his grasp. The planet shook both in awe of his power, and in fear of the annihilation he would rain down upon it.

"I grow tired of breaking you little by little. It's time for your complete, and _absolute_ annihilation!" A thousand howling winds of darkness came to Susano'o's beck and call, swirling around the centering force that was his blade. Raw power, uncontainable by man or god, was unleashed with but a swing of the blade.

Thousands upon thousands of thick and blinding cuts tore apart miles of the land, sea and sky around the god. All that stood in his path knew only death and destruction, and all that was left when the attack came to a close was a sea of azure flames amidst a barren landscape with Susano'o standing in the center of it all. The god held his blade in triumph, observing as the flames of darkness rose up far and wide to create a hell on Earth for him to relish in.

"All shall return to ash, as all was so born. Judgment…has been rendered **absolute**."

Through the destruction he has caused, Susano'o stared upon the site where he last saw Alex, and for the first time since his rebirth was struck with disbelief. The boy still stood, his body drenched in blood to such a degree that only the glove he wore could identify him. His fingers trembled and then clenched into fists, the blood being sucked back into his body as though he was a sponge made of flesh.

His body was still riddled in wounds, but he forced the blood in with a deep but pained concentration. Susano'o raised his sword again, tightening his grip to the point of breaking the handle.

"I will do this as many times as it takes. You will perish at my hand!" He exclaimed, preparing yet another attack to wipe the boy off the face of the Earth.

Alex took in a few heavy breaths, absorbing even more energy from the planet to keep his body alive, if what his current state of being could even be considered that. He couldn't hear his heartbeat, there was no pain in his body, and there was only one voice in his thoughts.

" _Show him…_ _ **true**_ _destruction…_ _ **Our**_ _destruction…"_

The boy's vision was blurred, but he looked down towards his glove. After one very deep breath, he opened his mouth and let out a hollow whisper.

"Recognize…password…Abraham and Lumina…whiter…" The magnets on the glove decompressed and the glove slipped off his limping hand. At that moment, pain that was once numb flared through his body as though he was being burned alive. He wrenched his body back as rainbow flames consumed his right arm whole. As his screech of anguish echoed across the lands, he took the blood that poured forth from his body and collected it around his burning hand, drying it up and forming it into a beastly claw.

The flames tried to break through the dried blood, leaving bright burning cracks spread throughout that had an appearance similar to cancerous veins. Biting his teeth together and hunching forward, Alex's eyes flared bright as he mustered up the vigor to scream, "THIS IS FOR RAGNAAAAA!"

He flew straight at Susano'o as he brought his blade down. Reckless and without restraint, Alex plunged his burning, bloody claw into the center of the armor and shredded his way through the side of it. The flames, born from the many souls that inhabited his body, allowed him to grab onto Terumi's spiritual form and rip him free from the Susano'o Unit.

Terumi was trapped, bound to the flames that scorched out from Alex's hand without end. Yet though he was left without his armor or the power that came with it, his smile stayed ever wide.

"Ehehehe…! Son of a bitch…You actually ripped me out of the Susano'o Unit. Who woulda thought you had it in you…?" Terumi's attitude was disturbingly nonchalant even as he stared into the eyes of a boy whom he knew could not possibly care less.

"So, you're going to kill me now, huh? Then what…? You've got nothing left to live for, boy! All that awaits you after this…is a sleepless eternity wrought with despair!"

"…Like I wasn't used to that before…" Alex whispered to himself, tightening the grip around Terumi's body and causing the flames to spread out. The man widened his face with a maddened glare, doing nothing now but laughing in the face of a certain demise.

"This is for Shina…And the future between us forever lost." Alex couldn't muster the strength to yell that into Terumi's face. The man's continued laughter brought no satisfaction to his demise, as his body disintegrated down to a few smoldering green embers, and even those faded from sight just a moment later.

Then, there was only silence. Alex was alone, the fires that consumed his arm disappearing for the time being and leaving it in a state of dry, blackened flesh that made even the veins look as though they were filled with tar. Staring skyward, he couldn't even hear the wind blowing his way even though it's gentle breeze brushed against his body.

Closing his eyes, the boy chose to turn around to face the Susano'o Unit. It had collapsed on the ground with a gaping hole in the center. The artifact piece lied inside, undisturbed by the battle. Slowly crossing the hellish landscape, the boy bent down and picked the stone up. Looking it over for a few seconds, he could not translate what it said, nor did he care to find out.

As a memory of Shina flashed before his eyes, Alex's chest tightened and forced a single tear from his right eye. Wrapping his fingers around the artifact piece, he gripped it tighter and tighter until it began to crack, where he would then applied one last vice to break it down to rubble. Opening his hand, he let the wind carry the pieces off his palm and onto the ground, watching as they sunk into the cracks and disappeared forever.

With a weak, blurry glance down towards his right pocket, he reached inside and pulled out the Gaia Temporis. Resting it on his palm, he held it out a couple inches before his face just so he could see it. His brows drooped, and just a tiny sliver of hope came into being inside of him.

"Please. Just this once…let me go back in time." He poured his heart and soul into his request, but the stone remained silent. The boy's body began to shake, his teeth clattering together to form a tense scowl.

"Please…I'm begging you! You have to let me go back!" His voice became choppy and desperate, teetering on the edge of rage. But yet again, the stone said and did nothing.

Shaking some more, Alex gripped the stone around his fingers and raised it above his head ready to slam it against the ground with all he had, screaming out to it, "GODDAMN IT WHY NOT?!"

Before he could take his fury out upon the Gaia Temporis, a strong, gravitational pulse equal to the one that struck the planet before came down upon him. He dropped to his knees after a second of struggle, his arms following suit. When the phenomenon came to an end, Alex's body froze.

He twisted his head slowly towards the sky, his mouth just a bit agape, and rose to his feet as though now a member of the undead. Experiencing that power once more gave him an idea, an idea that only his desperate state of mind would have allowed him to go through with.

"Amaterasu…Of course…" With a droll whisper, he raised the Gaia Temporis towards the sky and concentrated on the boundary between this world and the realms beyond. The Gaia Temporis listened to his wishes this time, and for miles on end the skies began to crack open and filled the land below with heavenly light.

From afar, Rachel and Amane continued to watch the events unfold, the vampire struck with awe as the sky shattered apart, revealing a bright white entryway to another world.

"No, he couldn't possibly be considering…!"

"Rachel Alucard, I'm afraid my worst fears are coming true after all. In just a few moments, we'll be floating in the middle of ground zero for the end of the world." Amane looked up as the light flushed it's way onto the planet, heralding the emergence of a power unseen by mankind for hundreds of years.

A divine machine, whose size dwarfed even the Black Beast, descended upon the Earth. It's body had the colors of regality, from pristine white and royal crimson to luxurious gold, and it's overall appearance could not be described by mere words alone. It's presence, overwhelming. It's power, unfathomable. Only the Master Unit, Amaterasu, deserved such high praise in this world.

As the giant chimes that draped for it's head rang true, Alex stared up at it's majesty with just the tiniest glimmer of hope present in his otherwise hollow eyes.

"I can still fix it…Fix it all…And then we'll be together forever…right…Shina?"

 _Next Time: The Last Guardians_


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Amaterasu and the Azure**

The Master Unit was suspended in the skies over the planet that she maintained. For a presence as grand and divine as she projected, the machine didn't say a single word even as it's 'dream' slowly became a much worse 'nightmare' with every passing second. Now, the one responsible for all this madness she had to endure, Alex Whiter, appeared to be setting his sights on dealing with her as well.

The boy stood in a plateau of cracked ground and wisps of black and blue flames. He was alone, all his enemies, and even all his allies had fallen. Nothing preoccupied his mind beyond a single thought, to bring Shina back to life, no matter what the cost.

Alex's arms trembled, his legs weak, and his body numb. It would be any wonder if he could fly, let alone reach the heavens above, and the 'god' that he had invited into this world. The distance seemed so far, yet as the boy stretched his left hand out he believed that he could touch the machine if he went just a tiny bit further.

Without a second's thought, his feet pushed themselves off the ground and levitated him away from the destruction below. His body sped up, and his quivering hand clenched into a fist before being placed against his chest. Once he had passed the wall of flames circumference the destruction, he absorbed the flames into his body to give himself enough energy for last push.

The embers, fueled by the unnatural and physical manifestation of chaos, was poison to his body. He hunched over, nearly ready to hurl, but forced only a dry cough through his mouth and let himself suffer only the dizziness inflicted upon him. His vision shook before laser focusing upon the 'god', and after a few seconds to reorient himself he spread his messy wings and took off towards the sky.

The air pressed around his body, cold and unwelcome. He heard but did not care about it's presence, though he did notice that as he got closer to Amaterasu that the air grew warmer. The 'god' itself grew larger, but the size mattered not to the boy. He perceived it the same way as he had when it first appeared, nothing more than a machine for him to deal with.

When he was a mile away, his heart beat faster and faster, coming back to life within the confines of his chest with anticipating resolve. His eyelids, sunk in a sullen manner, raised up while his lips creased into a higher smile. He then began to rise, heading for the 'head' of the 'god', where his target truly lied.

Meant only to perform wide-scale phenomenon intervention, the Master Unit had no means of fighting back at it's disposal. It could only float there, helpless, as the boy floated even before it's head. He paused for a second, focusing on the large glowing coffin that lied at the back of the head. Taking in a long, single breath, he pushed himself forward and reached his left hand out.

"Releasing the zeroth type restriction, deploying the dimensional imaginary magic circle…" A titanic, golden crest appeared in Alex's path, shocking his hand and forcing him to wrench it back, where he watched as the wings of the crest spread out to encompass the width of the Master Unit.

"Connected to the inherent Boundary, Tsukuyomi Unit, activated." The calm and elegant voice reached Alex's ears and caused him to look up. Rachel floated down and landed atop the Master Unit, her parasol placed before the dress and eyes glowing with the same energies as the Tsukuyomi barrier.

Her glare was docile, projecting only a bit of melancholy into Alex's puzzled eyes. He froze up, body hunched over, while a bitter scowl formed on the right side of his face. The vampire didn't avert her gaze, even as his burned with the intensity of the sun.

"…Get out of my way, Rachel." The boy growled, his voice quiet but angered. She didn't say a word, standing her ground with the motionless stance of a statue. Not even her hair budged an inch.

Alex curled his right hand into a fist and nudged himself just an inch forward, leaning in close to the Tsukuyomi barrier so Rachel could examine every last ounce of anger and tiredness dripping from his face.

"I said, get out of my way, Rachel." He gave a warning with an attempt at being courteous, but again the vampire would not budge. His scowl tightened, and he threw his fist right into the barrier. A shockwave rippled through the barrier, but didn't disturb it in the slightest.

He punched the barrier with his other fist while pulling the first one back, then repeated a few more punches with the same amount of force put into each blow. Rachel closed her eyes and heard every impact, sounding as though the boy was beating on plexiglas.

After a dozen punches, Alex panted and lowered his hands. His wings began to break down into golden embers, but by just taking in a deep breath and absorbing the energy of the clouds for miles on end the wings flared up with brighter flames than before. He then tucked his right fist against his hip and launched a straight punch with all his might against the barrier, all while letting out a scream.

He failed to do anything. The fist collided and the knuckles buckled down from the repeated beatings it received, the skin breaking apart and bleeding against the barrier. He then spread his fingers out, the hand gliding down and leaving a streak of blood on the barrier for just a moment. Rachel opened her eyes, watching as the boy hung over and pressed both his palms against the Tsukuyomi and appeared to try and push through.

"It's useless…Tsukuyomi's defense is absolute. Not even you, with all your power, could hope to penetrate it." She spoke with confidence in her abilities. Alex knew that she wasn't wrong, and that irritated him beyond expectations.

"Then take it down!" He yelled out his demands rather foolishly, but nothing more could have been expected from a boy so embroiled in his own rage. Rachel lifted her head a bit and stared down at Alex, telling him off in a swift but curt manner, "This has gone far enough, Mr. Whiter."

"No it hasn't…I have to finish this!" Alex pleaded with all his desperation to someone who could only perceive his behavior as a threat, a notion that was not the least bit unjustified given the present circumstances.

"So I should simply stand aside and allow you to destroy Amaterasu?"

"I'm not! Trying! To destroy it!" Alex punctuated his response in a tone of sheer and utter disbelief, reaching deep into his soul to muster up the hope that Rachel would choose to listen to him now. Sure enough, the vampire's expression faltered, and she raised her brows in surprise.

"What other reason could you possibly have for summoning the Master Unit?"

"…I'm going to enter it, and use it's power to fix everything." Alex didn't hesitate to give his answer, for he had no hesitation to speak of in his decision. The vampire gave him a blank stare, at first stuttering out, "W-What on earth are you…"

She composed herself and closed her eyes partway, saying in response to that bit of news, "Whatever could have possibly given you that ridiculous idea…?"

"Terumi said it…He said Amaterasu is the one keeping this world going. If the Master Unit has the power to reconstruct an entire world, then should be simple for me to use it to bring back every good person who has died." The way the boy spoke made it sound so simple, but as the vampire would soon remark, "Simple? …Such a grave matter is far from 'simple'."

"The Master Unit is not something that can be entered and exited as one pleases. Once bound to it, they are trapped there forever. Would you truly sacrifice your life to undo what has been done?"

"Damn it…" Alex bit down on his lower lip for a moment and caused it to quiver, "I would sacrifice a thousand of my lives for **hers**. And don't tell me you wouldn't do the same for Ragna…"

Rachel's heart clenched but her stance did not waver, and she continued the conversation without so much as a second of pause, "Amaterasu maintains the existence of this entire world. Every person, every place, every thing…Do you have the knowledge necessary to recreate them all?"

"Y-Yes! Down to the last pebble!" Alex exclaimed, curling his hands back into fists and giving the barrier a desperate pound. Rachel simply closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Noel, Makoto, Tsubaki, Kagura, Hibiki, Jin…Hakumen, Luna, Sena, Trinity…Valkenhayn…Ragna…Those are merely the victims with names. It takes not into consideration the millions of others who have been thrown into the maelstrom of chaos."

Alex widened his eyes open and lifted his head, "M-Millions? What…what are you talking about? How could Terumi have taken that many lives?!"

As he planted his palms against the barrier and pulled himself in closer, Rachel opened her eyes and looked at him straight-on. Her gaze was perplexed, and just the tiniest bit pitiable towards his inquiry.

"…You honestly have no idea as to what has occurred, do you?" She responded, to which Alex slammed his palms down harder and exclaimed, "Damn it Rachel I'm NOT in the mood for this! Teurmi's already paid for whatever crimes he's done, so just TELL ME!"

"…I need not tell you anything. If you can bring yourself to accept the truth, then you simply have to turn around, and look down." Rachel closed her eyes, and let the boy do just that. Catching his breath for a moment, the boy peeled himself away from the Tsukuyomi and turned around. When he looked down, his heart stopped.

There was no luscious greens of sparkling waters waiting for him. An ocean of lava churned across the lands, splashing and melting down whatever still remained in it's path. Lightning crashed down upon the surface of the ocean while the skies beyond the reach of the Master Unit howled with a torrent of wind unending. Any safe land did not seem to exist for miles on end, and even if there was some there was doubt that it would last for much longer.

Alex shivered, his body sick to it's stomach. He knew, knew exactly what had happened. In his fit of rage against Teurmi, he had lost control of his powers, and took too much away from the planet. Now it was unstable, on the verge of destroying itself and all who lived in it. The thoughts of millions screaming as they died was a vision too great to bear. Alex's body dragged itself down onto his knees before the barrier, his hands crossing over and covering his mouth as he slowly shook his head, hoping, PRAYING, that none of this was real.

"Oh god…oh god no…I-I didn't…I-I would never…" His heart gave in, and his body fell forward with hands planted on empty air as his expression turned hollow. All he could hear now were the sounds of destruction below.

"…If left in it's current state, the world will surely perish. As of now, it is not too late for the Master Unit to fix things…If you truly regret what has occurred, Mr. Whiter, then please…Leave this world forever, and let the Master Unit return things to the way they're meant to be."

The particular choice of words from the vampire brought a spark of life back into the boy, who turned his head back and stuttered, "W-Wait…why…do I have to leave?"

"…I am almost beginning to pity your ignorance," Rachel murmured while closing her eyes for a brief moment, "I had always remarked to you how accursed that stone you carry is. It's hold over time and space is far greater than you realize, for even the Master Unit herself cannot perform a phenomenon intervention in it's presence."

"So long as you, and in turn that stone, remain on this world…It cannot be repaired. That is simply the reality of this matter."

" _I-I don't get it…I didn't tell the Gaia Temporis to override the Master Unit. Why would it…"_ The topic of the stone was only on his mind for a moment, for bringing up his departure got Alex to look at Rachel and ask something else.

"…The Master Unit wouldn't be able to bring Shina back, would she?"

Rachel closed her eyes and let out a dour sigh, "She is not a part of this 'dream', and neither are you. I'm sorry, but that is beyond the Master Unit's power."

"Then let me enter it…" Alex began to scowl, frustrated to have to return to this part of the conversation. However, the vampire offered a different argument than before.

"Even if I were to let you, it wouldn't make a difference. Just as your presence as an outsider denies the girl the right to live again, that same 'curse' means that even if you entered the Master Unit, the True Azure would most certainly deny you as unworthy."

Hearing the words 'True Azure' caused Alex's body to stiffen up, as his head was struck with a sharp, throbbing pain. It was though his brain was being scratched at by fingernails, and he flung his head down while the image of a strange realm that held only a single large stone door appeared forced itself into his mind for a moment.

After some heavy panting that didn't go unnoticed by Rachel, the boy's hand drew itself towards his right pocket and reached inside. The vampire widened her eyes, listening as the boy murmured to himself.

"The True Azure…" With a wicked smile crossing his face, he grabbed onto the Gaia Temporis and focused on the image he saw, " _Of course_ …"

"No! STOP!" Rachel lost her cool and cried out in vain, as the boy warped out of sight before her words could reach him. Left alone, the vampire closed her eyes and murmured, "What a fool I am…Once more, I have failed."

"Don't get too down on yourself Ms. Alucard. You've done quite the opposite," Amane walked up to Rachel from behind, waving a gentle lotus colored fan before his face as she looked back, "Our little Overlord has fallen in line just as I predicted."

He folded the fan up and pointed it forward, speaking in a rather amused tone, "And I'm sure he'll find the gatekeeper to be quite the troublesome _little_ opponent. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

Amane disappeared in a silent flurry of petals, leaving Rachel to lament the state of the world all by herself, assuming there would even be a world for much longer…

Through time and space, Alex warped his way past the boundaries that would have prevented most mortals from reaching this place, and landed upon a world far removed from the existence of man. It was a heavenly landscape, with a bright sky of pure light that was almost blinding, and a series of serene clouds spread around the edges of the realm. There floor wasn't made of stone nor metal, nor was it made of anything that was considered 'real'. It simply existed.

A few hundred feet away from where Alex landed stood a door that towered over the realm. It too was composed of an unknown material, but also marked with divine carvings and the symbol of the Azure Grimoire. Just standing in the presence of the door left the boy flooded with an unimaginable and strange power.

"That's it…Behind that gate lies the True Azure…And the power to make _any_ wish become reality." Before Alex could even make a run for the gate, his body was forced to hang over, the wings on his back shattering into tiny embers. Before he collapsed all the way, he jerked his body back up and hunched his head against his chest while panting.

"Ha…ha…G-Guess there's no energy here," He observed before biting his teeth down and lifting his head to look at the gate, "But I've got more than enough to open a damn door…"

He picked himself up and sprinted at the gate, breathing hard and heavy breaths as he moved. Once halfway to his destination, a pair of crystalline glints came from the top of the gate, and after glancing up Alex found himself having to hop back before a pair of crescent, bird-like crests came speeding down at him. The projectiles hit the ground and shattered as though made of glass, complete with the appropriate sound.

Clenching his fists and staring up at the top of the gate, the boy saw the shadow of a lone figure wielding a sword bigger than themselves standing in place for just a second. With a graceful flip, the figure plummeted to the ground right in front of the gate, the impact doing little to faze them.

Alex tried to focus on the person, his blurry vision making it difficult at first. The person in his way was a girl that was just under five feet tall, wearing a long, elegant dark blue dress with a white collar and short red tie. A black gown covered most of the dress, and matched well with her black tights and blue metal high heel shoes. Her hair was blonde and tied into a braid that extended down to her shoulder blades, with a silver piece at the end of it. Her eyes were glowing with a pure azure color, and portrayed the appearance of a dedicated warrior. In both her hands, pointed back towards the gate, was a gigantic white sword with a somewhat triangular form to it.

Who the girl was wasn't a surprise to Alex. He knew her as Es, a Prime Field Device much like Nu and Noel, but created a century and a half ago. What confused him was the fact that she was here at all, now standing between him and the gate to the True Azure. His mind was assaulted by a brief flash of static, followed by a glimpse of this girl fighting Susano'o in front of this same gate appearing in his mind.

His body hung forward and his stomach grew ill, with him taking all his efforts just to avoid throwing up. Laying a hand on the side of his head, he dug his fingertips into the skin and grit his teeth before wondering to himself, "W-Why…what is…going on here…?"

"Elemental Overlord Alex Whiter…You are unwelcome here. You shall leave this sacred realm, or you will leave me no choice but to deal with you personally." Her voice was mature and elegant, but was focused entirely on the objective standing before her.

Alex raised his body up and pulled his hand away, his eyes giving off a nasty glare towards Es as he told her, "I don't care whether I'm welcome or not. You **will** get out of my way!"

"So, your answer is 'no' then?" Es replied with her eyes shut.

"There IS no other answer." Alex growled out.

"…Then it is within my jurisdiction to purge you from this world forever." Es opened her eyes and was immediately off, gliding along the ground with incredible speed. Alex widened his eyes and leapt back, but his timing was off. Es stopped a foot away from the boy and spun her body around with the grace of a ballerina, managing to cut along the front of his abdomen with the edge of her blade.

Blood seeped out, but didn't stop Alex from swinging his right arm out and to summon his sword. The embers formed out from his hand, but fizzled out a moment later. He gave his hand a brief puzzled glance and then swung his head forward, throwing his hand out to block Es' leaning, downward slash by grabbing the sides of the blade between his fingers.

The blade trembled and pushed Alex's arm back into his body, the bones in his elbow visibly pushing out into the skin. As his nerves were pinched, Alex mustered up a flare around his body that managed to get Es to reel her sword back in. However, any perception of her retreating was mere deception, as she turned around and planted her sword in the ground, using it to support her body as she kicked both her legs one after the other up into Alex's chest and chin to knock him up.

Once landed she pulled the sword up and leapt with a forward flip, using her sword to create a crystalline ring as she attacked Alex and brought him downward. His descent planted both feet on the ground, with Es landing and dashing forward to perform another slash that created a crest ring horizontally.

Alex's legs were struck, with him just managing to coat them in a thin layer of diamond for protection. He skid back and his upper body hunched forward, with him curling his hands into fists and punching forward, assaulting Es with a plume of wildfire. She held her sword up and protected herself from most of the heat without flinching, moving her gaze to the left as Alex sprints past her to make headway towards the gate.

She turned her blade and sliced down to cut through the remaining flames, then put her blade back and glided after Alex, overtaking him in a second. She didn't focus her gaze on him as she lifted just a bit up and brought her blade beside the left of her head, smashing it against the ground and summoning a blossom of crystalline blades to repel the boy. One of the blades' tips brushed against the bottom of his chin and caused a sweat to start exuding from his pores.

Es planted her feet on the ground and positioned the blade near her waist, concentrating on Alex's movements. He lunged at her with fist drawn back at the side of his head, and shot it out at her face while it was coated in electricity. She began to spin her sword around in a circle, midway through blocking the punch but not the scattering electricity that struck parts of her limbs.

She finished the circle then hopped a foot back, slicing in an upward arc to send a massive projectile out from the circle. The projectile dug diagonally into Alex's chest and dragged him away at blistering speeds while trying to slice through his body whole. Alex grit his teeth and pulled his head back, starting with a grunt and turning it into an angered roar as he slammed both his fists into the projectile with all he had.

It shattered, but the damage had been done. A thick scar covered the front of Alex's body, blood dripping onto the ground from it. Each pitter-patter that entered his ears reminded him of his own mortality, now something he was ready to fear in the face of what he still had to do. After a couple heavy breaths as his heart thumped against his chest, he looked up and saw two more crests flying his way, with Es gliding behind them.

"Graaaah!" Alex roared, flames rising around his body before he swatted his right hand out and broke the first projectile at the cost of a cutting imprinting itself onto the back of the hand. He then leapt up over the second projectile and pulled the fist back, pretending to dive down but pausing only a couple inches into the move so Es would swing her sword prematurely.

He then took the iron from his own blood and multiplied it until it covered his fist, diving down and punching Es square in the face. Her body gave in for a moment, which was sufficient time for Alex to hoist her up by the part of her dress at the bottom of her chest and begin pounding her gut with swift, hammer-like punches. She didn't show a response to any of the attacks, so Alex let go and reeled his right fist back, throwing his entire body forward to smash her face with the brunt of all his knuckles.

Both his bones and hers cracked from the impact, with him holding onto that strike for a few seconds before letting her get sent flying away. His body stumbled forward and he collapsed onto his back, the pants worsening while his arms were sprawled across the floor. Es fell onto her side and spun around with a couple bounces, but managed to make a graceful recovery onto her feet.

Alex's mind was racing, not helped by the voice inside speaking to him, _"What are you doing?!_ _ **Kill this wench!**_ _"_

"SHUT UP!" His yell echoed out into the void and gave Es pause, and he tightened his fists even as the bones of his knuckles pushed forth between his muscles. Pushing himself up, Alex began coughing blood out of his mouth but ignored it, turning around and finding that the gate was even farther away than it was when he had arrived, and so too was the prospect of seeing Shina's smile one more time.

"God…DAMN IT!" Alex screamed as his body was engulfed in a terrifying and titanic blaze. Es looked upon the flames, their effigy reflected within her eyes, and thrust her sword back over her head.

"Threat acknowledged…Releasing Type: Amplifier - 'Avalon'." Her blade glowed with azure light and split open, becoming wider and brighter than it was before while wisps of aquamarine energy lingered themselves around her body.

Alex rocketed off the ground, his feet leaving trails of fire in his wake. Es hopped just an inch off the ground and spun her sword in a circle, creating a crest ring around herself to ward off her assailant. With one slash, she now managed to create two rings to aid her, and Alex collided with them both without so much as a care in his mind.

Though it shredded through his arms to do so, he broke past the rings and threw a punch towards Es. She flipped back and brushed her sword across the air twice, sending a few projectiles down at Alex. The boy swung his arms up and coated them in metal for protection, but the multiple impacts combined with his weakening body caused him to collapse unto his knees by the time the assault was done.

Once she landed, Es glided forward and spun around, preparing to deliver a swift but powerful slash to the boy's entire body. The blade dug into his right shoulder and started to carve through it. Alex squirmed and grunted, tightening his teeth together before firing off a massive burst of electricity around his body. Es was zapped and flung back, where Alex then bent down and pounded the ground twice to smite her with a cascade of compressed lightning bolts.

She took the brunt of the attacks with minimal damage to her frame, and smoke rose up from her body for a few seconds. Alex hunched forward and took a few more breaths, blood dripping out from his mouth onto the ground. He closed his mouth into a scowl and growled a single "Why?"

Raising his head up high and glaring at Es, he threw his left hand up to point at her, exclaiming out of a deep frustration towards everything, "Why do you Prime Field Devices keep getting in my fucking way?!"

"If none of you existed, then-" Alex paused for a moment, his expressing shifting into a more unhinged slump as a devious, wicked idea was born into his mind.

"Hehehe…That's it…! That's the wish I have to make!" He swung his arms out and gave both his hands a brief glance, "I'll erase the Prime Field Devices from existence! Then there'd be no Nu, no Saya, and no Izanami! Without Prime Field Devices, Terumi would have nothing, NOTHING, to make his plans a reality! A-And Shina…would still be alive!"

Es faced the cries of madness before her with an uneasy pause, while Alex jerked his head back and laid a hand atop his face, letting out a hoarse but gleeful laugh. He then swung his body forward and let loose a flare, exclaiming out to his opponent, "My wish will become reality! And I refuse to let you stand in my way!"

 _Next Time: Return to Zero_


	25. Final Chapter

**Final Chapter: True Heart**

Es stood before the gate to the True Azure, unwilling to let Alex have even a chance of making it through. The boy was fevered and running on fumes at this point, yet still faced down the guardian with the same undying determination he's always had.

Alex lunged across the mystic realm to his target, who vaulted back and landed on the front of the gate, tucking her massive sword behind her until the tip of the blade touched upon her back. She dove down at Alex and swung out as far as her lithe arms would allow, cleaving a thick, wavy crest into the air.

The boy flipped back using one hand as support, and landed with his right fist pulled back. Es landed and flew right at him, swinging the blade up in a clean curve. Shifting his body just a little to the left, Alex managed to avoid the attack and throw his fist down into her face. A shockwave ruptured out, but Es planted her feet hard into the ground and pushed forth against the blood and knuckles buried into her skin.

She managed to force his entire arm back two inches before she mustered the strength to swing her sword at it. Alex reeled his fist back but was cut across the chest instead, leaving a thick bloody "X" scarred across his body. Even as he stumbled back with knees weakened, he didn't lose the look of ferocity grafted upon his face.

Es planted her sword down and used it to leap into the air, where she planted both her feet firmly into Alex's face, taking advantage of his unbalanced state to knock him down. In that same motion, she flipped herself higher up, suspended herself over his fallen body with blade pointed down, prepared for the final impalement.

Alex creaked one of his eyes open and then widened it as far as it would go, letting out a heavy growl as he pounded Es with a frontal burst of air. She was flung back near the front of the gate while Alex stood back up ready to fight again. His arms swung left to right like a broken pendulum, then stabilized right next to his hips. He tightened his arm muscles, blood spurting forth from the pores, and then ran right at Es.

Es blinked once and then leaned forward, meeting Alex's charge with sword extended along the side of her body. Her blade began to unravel into a series of bright white energy ribbons, unveiling a crystalline katana.

"Type: Exterminator…Activated." Es' speed increased, but her body made no sound as she sprinted forward. She was like the wind, silent and graceful. But she was also like the winter, cold and deadly. With one unseen swing of the blade, she sliced Alex's right arm clean from the shoulder.

The boy's body was flung back from the force of the cut, and he watched as his arm shattered apart like glass and disintegrated into the far flung winds. Seeing this, Alex stamped his right foot down on the ground, forming cracks around his heel. Then, fueled by an indomitable rage and a flurry of memories relating towards Shina, his body burst into flames and his eyes turned pitch black.

"GRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Using whatever energy he had left to him, Alex reconstituted his arm by binding pebbles around a twisting thrall of vines that grew out from his bleeding shoulder. He then charged at Es and threw his fist back ready to strike. For one so steadfast in her stance, even she paused in the face of this aberration of anger that kept charging her way.

"Alright, I think that about wraps things up here…" An all-too familiar, casual tone of voice spoke out through the madness, unheard by the boy too wrapped up in his own self-destruction. He would come to heed that voice, soon enough, as his unrelenting charge was brought to a swift and anti-climatic halt by golden chains of lights that pierced into his wrists and ankles. There was four chains for each limb, and all of them along with the boy's body were encapsulated by a complicated set of magic rings.

The energy that once flourished forth from his body fizzled out into nothingness, his limbs were wrenched away from his body to the point that a single inch further would've been enough to pull them clean off, and he was kept suspended in place a mere foot away from a now perplexed Es. After a couple contemplating blinks, Es raised her blade beside her hip and prepared to swing.

"Ah-ah-ah, that will no longer be necessary," That same voice was able to get Es to halt her attack as the one responsible for binding Alex in place stepped in view, hiding part of his face behind a paper fan, "In fact, killing him now would only worsen our situation."

"A-Am…ane…" Alex's response was a weak and furious growl, to which the man only offered him the slightest notion of attention before looking back down at Es, who twisted her body around and pointed the katana up at his neck.

"Observer, you were not given permission to come here." The blade could have cut his neck and the man still would not have flinched. Closing his eyes and radiating with a serene presence, Amane could only chuckle at how staunch Es was to her duties.

"Given the circumstances, I feel you should pardon my intrusion just this once," Amane peered out with a stern glare and folded his fan up, nudging the katana away from him, "Wouldn't you agree, Gatekeeper?"

Es blinked once and then withdrew her blade to the ether, placing her hands closer to her chest and with a stoic expression stated clear as she could, "When you are done, leave immediately."

She then turned around and went back to the gate, disappearing from sight before Amane could walk between her and Alex's line of sight. Chuckling in amusement, the man remarked to himself, "Such a cute little thing. A pity she's terrifying to be around…"

"What…are you…doing?" Alex grumbled, and Amane peered over his left shoulder to take in the boy's helplessness. In a twisted manner of speaking, it was as though he was an artist doing self-critique of his own work. Because of that, he had earned a loathsome glare from the target of his appraisal.

"Honestly, it's not like I enjoy doing this, but…You did pretty much leave me with no other choice." Amane then twirled around and stared the boy straight-on, watching as the boy tried to budge.

"Unless you want to be in even more pain than you are present, I would suggest not even trying to struggle. Those chains could bind even Susano'o in place. At your absolute weakest, you have no chance of breaking free." Amane stated the truth without the slightest pause, waving a hand out beside his hip and putting on a noticeable demeanor of seriousness.

Alex stopped struggling on the spot, instead snapping his mouth out and exclaiming, "Let me out of here RIGHT NOW!"

"And now why should I do that? Perhaps you haven't noticed, but you have been a naughty, naughty boy. And naughty boys' need to be put in time-out," Amane then lowered his brows a little and remarked, "Though in your case it'll be a bit more…permanent, to say the least."

"I. Am trying. TO FIX THINGS!" Alex roared out in a gravely voice, jerking his head forward even as pain tore into the tendons on his neck. Amane nudged his body back a bit and forced a look of surprise upon his face, but then it took only a moment for him to return to his natural, smiling self.

"Really? Trying to fix things? And how exactly does 'removing the Prime Field Devices from existence' fix anything?" Amane then closed his eyes, "Perhaps you do not understand the gravity of such a wish. Undoing their existence means the end of the Master Unit, and I can't even begin to imagine the consequences that would unfold afterwards…"

"I-I was just trying to bring Shina back to life!" Alex pleaded his reasoning to an attentive Amane, who opened his eyes halfway and remarked, "A noble mission, to be sure."

"When the curtains seemed ready to fall, and the ending appeared to be uplifting…The knife was plunged into a life so innocent and unaware, twisting both the hearts of those who watched and those who participated. But unfortunately, as much as I'd like to continue making these apt comparisons, reality is what reality is…The life of the one you care for is gone forever. It cannot be saved, only mourned."

"You goddamn hypocrite…" Alex let out a frustrated growl and begun to hang his head, his whole body shaking within the chains, "So Shina gets to die, but that bitch Amaterasu gets to revive Ragna at her leisure no matter how many times others suffer for it?"

He swung his head up and lashed out at Amane with spit and blood flying forth from his mouth, "HOW IS THAT FAIR?!"

"There's nothing fair about it at all, I agree," Amane gave his sympathies to Alex's plight, adding on to that with, "Make no mistake, I do not advocate what that girl has done, but the world is what it is. Until the time comes for a 'hero' to stand up and change the course of the 'dream', it must remain that way for the sake of keeping this beautiful world of ours intact."

"And I'm sorry to say, but as long as you remain in this world that future will never have a hope of coming to pass." Having been taken aback by Amane's empathy, Alex resumed his piercing glare to the man when he returned to stating the facts.

"You have little reason to hate me, Alex Whiter. Rachel and I **did** give you sufficient warning, after all. You should have left when you had the chance, but now…Well, like I said before, it's already far, far too late to go back."

Amane waved his right hand out and a giant black and blue-ish rift opened up below Alex, which Amane began to step away from as the edge reached his toes. Taking out his fan and unfurling it before his face, he continued to explain, "Your tenacity is impressive, but even it has it's limits. Once I seal you away within the Boundary, your body will break down until only your soul remains, where it shall stay trapped inside forevermore. And without your body to use as a conduit, that gaudy stone you carry around will no longer be able to interfere with the Master Unit. Thus, the world shall return to the way it was before, continuing as though neither of you had even appeared."

Alex widened his eyes and stared at the man, leaving his mouth agape as his body was being dragged towards the Boundary. Budging his head down, he watched as his feet were swallowed by the rift in a couple seconds, followed by his lower legs.

"And I'm afraid that, unlike the young lass, your life shall not be mourned. Farewell, Phoenix of Destruction…" Amane waved the fan before his face and closed his eyes.

His body now absorbed halfway into the Boundary, Alex raised his head up and defiantly screamed, "AMANE! You son of a bitch let me **out** of here! This isn't fair! AMANE! AMAAAAAAANEEEEEE!" He was swallowed into the infinite darkness, his screams diluting into an empty silence.

…

…

…

" _tick…tock…tick…tock…"_

There was a sleeping darkness and a weightlessness surrounding Alex's body. He was adrift in a sleep that only now he seemed to be waking from. It was a slumber so deep, that he didn't even think or feel a thing occur around him. The first thing he experienced upon awakening was his eyes creaking open, and his head feeling as empty as the air he breathed. Partway into his first breath, Alex's eyes widened all the way and his heart started to race without explanation.

He swung his body upright out of the fancy king-sized bed he was nestled within. His head throbbed, a sensation running through the top of his brain similar to a brush made of metallic fibers scraping along his skin. His memories were frazzled and took a bit of time to reconnect together in order to make a coherent narrative for him to recognize, but once they did he froze up and found his body riddled with goosebumps.

" _I'm…alive?"_ The first thing he noticed was the sensation of his own fingers brushing along the side of his throbbing forehead. Most notably for him, it was his right hand that touched his face. He pulled his hand down and stared at it with perfect and clear vision, squeezing the fingers shut and not suffering from any pain. His arm was flesh, blood and bone again, looking even better than it was before.

The pain in his brain continued to spike every few seconds as his body and mind adjusted to the present circumstances. His eyes tried to force themselves shut, but he kept them at a mild squint while moving his head around to observe his surroundings. The Victorian era style aesthetics stuck out like a sore thumb, as did the Halloweenesque décor.

" _Rachel's…castle? What am I doing he-…"_ He paused for a moment, a discrepancy in his memories causing him to instead think, _"Back…here?"_

He gave his head a brief shake and grit his teeth down, _"Wait, no…Why would I think…that? Shit, something's not right. I-I was…being plunged into the Boundary…a-and then…"_

He looked up and gave a brief glance to his surroundings one more time, his vision now a little shakier than it was before. Though his body was full of life, the atmosphere around him was not. It was a strange sensation, one that would not go away even as Alex tried to divert his attention from the subject. It dug it's claws in, and left his body cold.

He lifted his head up and pulled his hands away, drooping them on top of the bed as though they were as stiff as stone. Torn between the confusion of the present and the rage and loss of the past, Alex didn't know what to believe, assuming what he was seeing was even real to begin with.

"Oh thank goodness, you're awake!"

Alex's eyes widened, his heart tightening into a twisted knot, and before he knew it his head was turning on it's own towards the moonlit windows to the left. Bathed in that beautiful, pale, crimson light was a sight that defied what the boy could make of reality, and that was Shina Aurora. She sat by her lonesome, the light accentuating her relieved smile and glistening her hair.

As she tilted her head and giggled, Alex continued to stare at her, making her entire body the object of his fixation. Head to toe, everything looked the same as he remembered her to be. Her beauty was preserved, untouched by even a droplet of blood, and for her everything appeared to be normal. He blinked once, then twice, then a third time, unsure if this was a dream or yet one more nightmare before he went completely insane.

Shina looked at him as well, their eyes locking into perfect synchronization. She smiled and cracked a jolly little joke, "You look pale Alex. What, has Rachel gotcha seeing ghosts? Hehehe!"

Alex leaned towards the edge of the bed and stretched his right hand out with Shina unaware he was doing so until his fingers brushed the left side of her face and stroked the skin down to her neck. There was warmth, a warmth that could only come from her skin so silky and smooth. It was a sensation too real to be replicated by any dream or nightmare.

The boy's body warmed up, and with a sniffle his eyes began to water. Shina then looked at him and said, "Silly Alex, I'm not a ghost! For a second there, I was worried that you-"

In the blink of an eye, Alex threw his arms around her chest and pulled her in until her face was buried against his chest. He held on tight and shook his head, his tears flying out onto her shirt while she widened her eyes and stammered, "Wh-wh-whoa! W-What's gotten into you Alex?!"

"You're alive…You're really, really alive!" His joy was palpable, unable to be broken even by the quibbling of his voice.

"U-Uh course I am! There's a few s-scrapes 'ere and there, but I AM alive!"

"I-I know you are, s-stupid…!"

"H-Huh? Ummm, you ok Alex? Not that I don't appreciate the hug but…" Before she could finish, Alex lifted her body up and looked her straight in the eyes. He could only see just a bit of her clearly as the tears muddled his vision, but what he was about to say to her was as clear as could be.

"Shina…I love you." Short and to the point, the boy's admission was true to his heart. Shina stared at him and blinked a couple times, her cheeks starting to turn a bright shade of red.

"H-H-H-H-H…HUH?!" Her mouth stood agape and with eyes widened she stumbled upon her words and said, "I-I'm sorry, c-c-could you repeat that?"

"I love you. You're the most important person in my life, and I never want to leave your side EVER again."

Shina shifted her gaze to the left and then the right, followed by focusing them forward and with a cutesy giggle saying, "O-Oh…I-I get it!"

"You do?" Alex's eyes widened and he anticipated what she had to say. Shina closed her eyes and grinned, the red on her face fading as she replied, "Y-Yeah! Terumi roughed ya up pretty good…Y-You're just a little loopy after all that."

She whirled a finger in a loop beside her face, pushing her tongue out through her lips and letting out what was meant to be a playful "Cuckoo!"

For Alex though, that remark was a bullet through his heart, causing him to shake his head and state again in a sincere panic, "I-I'm not loopy! I'm being honest!"

Shina took her right hand and patted it down onto Alex's gloved hand, saying in a calm, somewhat worried voice, "You shouldn't be pushing yourself so hard after all that, Alex. M-Maybe ya should lie back down and gather your thoughts, ok?"

Alex stared in abject disbelief. There was now a wedge in his heart, a sharp, painful one born of rejection. Shina opened her eyes and looked at him just the same as she would normally, the twinge of an innocent smile now acting as a symbol of mockery to him. His hands shook and he pulled them away, laying both on top of the bed. He bore his entire heart to the one he loved, and she brushed him aside as though he was a madman.

Alex couldn't recognize if it was the suddenness of his declaration that threw her off, or if she simply did not love him back. His energy drained, the boy's body became heavy and he fell back onto the pillows behind him, his eyes staring towards the ceiling. The two were silent, looking away from each other as Shina fiddled all her fingers close to her chest and looked sullen, a tiny blush appearing back onto her cheeks.

Though his mind was plagued with disappointment, Alex was finally able to piece together something that should've been obvious sooner. He was back in Rachel's castle, meaning that this was right after he got out of the coma Terumi put him in.

" _But that couldn't mean…That was all a nightmare, was it?"_ Alex closed his eyes and reflected on the events 'past'. Everything he had heard, said and done was real. There was no denying those events, except that if he was now in the castle, none of it made sense. The Boundary does have a connection to many points in time and space, but the way Amane worded things suggested the exile was meant to be a definitive end to his life.

After a couple dry blinks, he looked to his right and patted down the lump resting on his hip. The Gaia Temporis was there, just like always, _"…Did you…send me back in time?"_

Widening his eyes, Alex threw his upper body up and grit his teeth. Shina swung her body around and exclaimed, "W-Whoa! Easy there Alex!"

"F-Fuck! Terumi still has the artifact piece! I-I know where that bastard is, I'm going to go after him and-"

"…Eeeeeeeh?" Shina blinked her eyes a few times and then giggled, Alex swinging his head to give her a nasty glare before she said, "See? Ya really need the rest Alex!"

"…What are you _talking_ about?" Alex was insulted by her pure nonchalance at the situation. Winking her right eye, Shina reached behind her back and then extended her right arm straight out before her chest, the artifact piece laid atop her palm.

Alex's mouth went agape and he shook his head back and forth twice, raising his hands to rub his eyes and glare deep into the stone's engravings. It was real.

"Da-da-da-DA! One artifact piece, ready to order!" Shina proclaimed with utter glee before Alex swiped the stone from her hands and stammered in rapid succession, "How?! When?! What?! Where?! Why?!"

"I'd've thought you'd remember THAT much at least Alex! After all, ya saved us a WHOOOOLE lot of trouble chasing that down again!" Shina was ecstatic, but Alex could only continue to look at her with the utmost confusion.

"I mean, if Terumi didn't lose his grip on the stone when you cut his legs, who knows what might've happened!"

"I…caused Terumi to drop it?" Alex's right eye began to wince shut as he was forced to think back on that moment. He remembered Terumi retreating with the artifact piece, but his brain told him that what Shina said was true. The two sets of memories intertwined but neither superseded the other, making it unclear as to what was true.

"That's…right…?" He murmured, as Shina then plucked the stone right out of his hand and held it up before her face.

"Hehehe! Four down, one to go! We're so close, I can almost taste it!" Shina gave the stone a pump in the air as though it was an extension of her fist. Even after the bitter taste of rejection, Alex would never stop being glad to see Shina in a good mood. Choosing to keep that mood up, the boy waved his hand out and said, "Here, let me piece it together."

Shina handed the stone back over to Alex, who used the Gaia Temporis' space manipulating powers to shrink it down enough to fit in with the other three pieces that Shina kept in her pockets. Then, he handed it back to her, with the two of them staring at each other for a bit before Alex decided to speak up.

"…So, I guess we can just…leave now?"

"If you're up for it. I really, REALLY think you should get some more rest though…" Despite Shina's request, Alex pushed the sheets off his body and turned his legs, planting them on the ground and pushing himself off the bed. His landing was shaky, but he positioned himself upright in a couple of seconds.

"I'll be fine. There's no reason to stay here anymore." Alex stated, and with a smile Shina pulled herself up from the chair and stretched her arms above her head.

"Yeeaaaah…As much as I'd like to say goodbye to Noel, it's probably for the best that we go."

"… _That's right, they'd all be alive now. Or perhaps they were never dead to begin with…"_ Alex closed his eyes and breathed a heavy sigh, shaking his head afterwards. The two of them then left the room and went to find Rachel, thanking her for the assistance in keeping Alex safe and rested. The vampire made no indication that she remembered anything, and by that point the boy began to bury the 'nightmare' deep within his subconscious.

After being teleported back to the real world, Alex formed a large bubble of air around his and Shina's body, carrying them away from the planet in record time. By themselves once more, Alex looked over his shoulder and saw Shina contemplating the combined artifact in her palm. He opened his mouth to say something, but shut it right after. Shina noticed this and opened her mouth as well, but ended up responding in the same manner as he did. The two looked away from each other, unable to say what was on their minds…

…

…

"… _Hmm, am I all alone this time? A pity, really…I am going to miss our little talks together."_

 _An ovular gap opened up in empty space, a being coming through and speaking to the other without a second's wait, "Oh? I had no idea you missed me so fondly."_

" _Ah, so you are alive. Or rather,_ _ **that**_ _version of you is."_

" _Yes, yes…The me of this branch has met their end at the hands of the maiden's spear. Though I am not the same person you knew, I hope we can speak to each other just the same as we did before."_

" _Ha, I suppose there is nothing wrong with that. Though first, I must mourn the loss of friendship my other self must now be experiencing."_

" _How bizarre that you would do so, knowing that these events would come to pass."_

" _I suppose you are not mistaken, old friend. So, I presume everything has transpired as you predicted it would?"_

" _Only if the transference was successful in this branch."_

" _Yes. The boy knows of the other timeline."_

" _And he is none the wiser to what had transpired?"_

" _Ha! A funny sentiment coming from you, considering not even I know what had transpired."_

"… _All that matters is that the boy reacted exactly as I expected. He speaks so highly of himself, believing that he is a hero meant to save everyone…But he's nothing more than the ultimate hypocrite, a being designed only to kill everyone."_

" _Even I am a bit surprised at how well your baits succeeded in luring the boy into your trap."_

" _Yes. First I used the doll to wear down the boy's patience and increase his desperation…Then, I used the snake's vessel to churn the fires of vengeance within…Later, I positioned the Mad Dog perfectly in place, using him to sow the seeds of hatred towards the boy in the hearts of those who lie beyond the static veil…Finally, I used the would-be god to sever the boy's connections to sanity, and unchain the beast within. The Observer at the time, however, was not someone's whose actions I had anticipated…Even though what he did worked towards my benefit all the same."_

" _That 'Amane' is a curious fellow. Even with all the time I have observed, I have been unable to decipher his origin."_

"… _Fufufu, I suppose that is fair play in this game of mine."_

" _Is something else the matter? You rarely smile like that."_

"… _A 'hero' created by an 'author' that ultimately becomes a 'monster'. The tale of Amaterasu is honestly an interesting story, wouldn't you agree?"_

" _A tragedy that could have easily been avoided, had humanity not been consumed by their own avarice."_

"… _Indeed. Now, if you'll excuse me, there is still one last loose end I must attend to."_

" _Ah yes. It would be quite a mess if 'they' were to find out about what you did with 'him'. I will see you again soon, old friend."_

… _._

… _._

 _Meanwhile, in the abandoned city of Ishana…_

Down in the Cauldron area, Terumi, still inhabiting the body of 'Hazama', walked around in circles with a look of downright irritable frustration plastered across his face.

"Ghhhh, that goddamn Elemental Overlord. His tenacity really pisses me the FRIG off!" Cracking a wide grin, he then calmed himself down a little and remarked, "But that's alright. I'm certain where that little runt is holed up now. I'll just have the Phantom take me to that shitty vampire's castle, and reclaim what's rightfully mine!"

" _Fufufu, and here I assumed that snakes never lost their prey once their fangs sunk in…"_

"What?" Terumi turned his head as a twisted, distorted voice called out to him, the being in question emerging from a vertical gap. They took on the appearance of a mass of violet static with the shape of a naked human, their gender undefined, and each step they took left a brief imprint of static onto the world.

"Oh, it's _you_. You have got…SOME NERVE…to show your face around here after your big hiccup!" Terumi approached the being, who opened up a 'mouth' just a tiny bit as the man leaned down and glared them with his glowing yellow eyes.

"Cause last I checked, I was promised the ultimate power! Something big enough to make even Amaterasu shit her goddamn pants! But now I'm empty-handed, because YOU didn't live up to your end of the bargain!"

The being didn't say a word at first, then was cold and precise to the man, _"The Phoenix of Destruction has left this world behind. You have missed your chance."_

"…Shit." Terumi bit his lower lip and let it squirm for a bit before turning around and brushing his arms out, "Whatever. I'll just go back to Plan A then. Least then I don't have to rely on a worthless piece of shit like you."

"… _Yes. I am so worthless that when you were done with me, you were planning to 'kill me', weren't you?"_ The being's mouth didn't move until they were done speaking, at which point it widened into a thin crescent smile and creaked like rusted floorboards.

" _I mean…the other 'you' said as much."_ Terumi hadn't given the person's words any heed until then. He turned himself around but then froze in place, a sensation even he could not explain.

There were many limbs stretched throughout the air behind the being's body, all of them composed of them same 'material' as they were. They cracked and creased like wild growing roots, and ensnared within them were many things. The pieces of Izanami's body, down to the last joint, were spread atop her bloody robe. Relius had been left impaled on top of Ada's claws, but the rest of the doll was nowhere to be found. Then there was Azrael, whose guts had been torn out and replaced with his cut off limbs.

Terumi shook for a moment, but then laid a hand on his hat and glared at the being. He whipped his other hand up and exclaimed, "You think that's gonna frighten me? Boy howdy, you got another thing coming, you stupid bitch!"

He launched Ouroboros out, the serpentine head plunging deep into the being's chest. Terumi cackled, exclaiming at the top of his lungs, "Succumb to madness and die die DIE! Ehehehehe!"

"… _Madness?"_ The being's mouth once again only moved to display emotion, slumping into a curious frown before thrusting open into a wide and pale grin without teeth. Ouroboros shook and flew out of the being's chest, only now it had taken up the properties of the Hiriirokane.

"W-What?!" Terumi's face widened before his vessel was impaled through the heart. Terumi's true spirit form, a squirming, lithe phantom with one green eye and unnatural veins sprawled out, was dragged out of the vessel and planted against the wall on the other side of the room by his own chain.

"T-This is impossible! How could you possibly have gotten a hold of that accursed power?!" Terumi yelled out. In the blink of an eye, the being was floating right in front of them with their hands hung out, neither one having even a finger of their name.

" _You do not know what true madness is, Yuuki Terumi. You gaze upon me, and yet can only see a fragment of what I truly am. Only those truly seeped in the art of madness…Can bear the weight of what I am."_

"What…are you?!"

"… _What is an ant to a god? What is a god…to the eternal, ever-growing infinity? I am everything, I am nothing…But for now, I am_ _ **fear**_ _."_ The limbs of this being stretched out and dug into Terumi's spectral form. His eye twisted back into his head as his body shriveled up and curled.

" _And even as you forget everything that I am, you will never, ever escape the_ _ **fear**_ _I imprint upon you. It has been fun, Yuuki Terumi, but a 'pawn' such as yourself must be sacrificed before the 'knights' can take notice."_

"G…Ghh…GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Terumi screamed into the void, enduring a pain unlike any other. He would never know how long it would last, but when it was through he had been returned to his vessel. And the being, having performed their purpose, undid the demonstration of their power and brought back those who had been slaughtered.

" _But that fear…Shall only be a fraction of what I deliver unto you, Phoenix of Destruction. But you, and all the others who dare to watch, shall see what I mean soon enough…"_

 **CLASH OF THE ELEMENTS PART 4 EX STORY 5**

 **THE END!**

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

And after many months, the BlazBlue arc of the story is over. It turned out to be just a TINY bit longer than I anticipated, but it was all necessary for the sake of the story.

Saying that now, I do wish to address a matter that's come up recently in the reviews. Mostly, I don't mind the fact that some of you may see Alex as a Mary Sue. Being honest, him being kind of one is an important point to this story. But on that note, if you want to bring up criticisms of the story, please do so as an actual user. When you're a guest, I can't hold discussion with you over what you've had to say, and that sucks because there's this big review sitting in this story now regarding the Azrael chapter and I can't speak with the guy because he posted it as a guest. So yeah, that's all I had to say on that matter.

I'm sorry to all the BlazBlue fans out there who might be angry at me now for killing off a bunch of characters. Don't think of it as me hating the series or nothing. BlazBlue's one of my favorite video game series, after all.

Anyways, now that this story is over, I'll be taking a week break to take care of a bunch of shit, then I'll be back here for the next arc of the story...Where I'll be taking Alex and Shina to the devastated world of Mega Man X. See you all later, and thank you for reading.


End file.
